


Supermarket

by situationnormal



Series: Supermarket AU [1]
Category: K-pop, Shinhwa
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-02-20 14:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2431724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/situationnormal/pseuds/situationnormal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Ricsyung. Hyesung has a crush on a guy he keeps running into at the grocery store, and he makes the mistake of telling Junjin about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“So do you think he’ll want the white flowers, or red? Or should I just skip the flowers? Do you not give men flowers?”

“Jinnie, shut up for a minute.”

“Maybe the flowers aren’t a good idea. It might be weird, between guys, right? Do you—”

“Seriously shut up!” Hyesung slapped his hand over Junjin’s mouth, dragging him behind a snack food display.

“What’s the matter?” Junjin asked, using some very expressive eyebrow movements to make up for how muffled his voice was.

“Just shut up,” Hyesung said, removing his hand from Junjin’s mouth and leaning around the display slightly, trying to see into the next aisle without being seen himself. Junjin leaned out behind him, trying to take a peek as well.

“Is that him? That guy you have a crush on?” he asked way too loudly.

“I said shut up,” Hyesung hissed.

“He’s hot. Wow. I see why you can only go to this grocery store now.”      

“Junjin,” Hyesung pinched his arm, shooting him a dangerous glare.

“Ouch, hyung! It’s not like he’ll know we’re talking about him, anyway. Oh, look. He’s coming this way,” Junjin said, smiling innocently as the tall man in the next aisle started walking toward them. Hyesung yanked his friend backward, turning him to face the display just in time to avoid being caught staring. They both pretended to be interested in the new cookies at the end of the aisle as the man walked behind them, carrying a few items in his arms. Hyesung’s heart was racing, just having him walk so closely.

When he reached the middle of the aisle, Hyesung worked up the courage to turn and look at him. He really was handsome—tall, broad shoulders, perfect teeth, tanned skin. Hyesung had noticed him the first time about a month before, and happened to see him walking into an apartment building nearby. It’s not like he kept going to that grocery store just to hopefully catch a glimpse of him or anything—it _was_ close to work—but seeing him once in a while was always a pleasant surprise. He only ever got a handful of items at a time, so he showed up a lot—which Hyesung knew because he stopped at the same store almost every day after work, just in case. Telling Junjin about it, though, seemed to have been a mistake.

“Are you going to talk to him? You should introduce yourself instead of just watching him like a stalker.”

Hyesung nudged Junjin so hard in the ribs that he bumped into the display behind them, knocking over a few boxes of cookies. The man turned to look, making eye contact with Hyesung who immediately blushed and turned away.

“Hyung,” Junjin whined, letting Hyesung fumble with the cookie boxes in embarrassment.

“Here, let me help you with that,” a voice said, very close to Hyesung’s ear. He looked up, seeing Jinnie’s grinning face first, before glancing next to him to see the man, who was kneeling, trying to help him pick up the boxes he kept dropping in embarrassment.

“Oh, no, it’s OK. I’ve got it,” Hyesung mumbled, even as the man took the boxes, brushing his fingers against Hyesung’s, and stood up.

“Looks like you had your hands full,” the man said, almost shyly, putting the boxes back on the display haphazardly before picking up his own items, which he had dropped on the floor.

“Thanks so much,” Junjin said, still grinning.

The man nodded, smiling politely at Junjin before nodding at Hyesung as well—then he turned around and started walking away. Hyesung’s heart was pounding so hard he thought he was going to faint, as he watched the man round the corner, disappearing down the next aisle.

“He’s hot and he’s nice. Wow. You should go and get his number. Tell him you’ll treat him to coffee or something.” Now it was Junjin who was nudging Hyesung in the ribs.

“Are you crazy? I’m not going to ask him out for coffee. I don’t know him,” Hyesung said, grabbing Junjin’s wrist.

“Says the guy who stalks him at the grocery store,” Junjin said, laughing, but letting Hyesung drag him to the checkout line nevertheless.

 

* * *

 

It had been a week, and Hyesung hadn’t seen the man from the store even once since the cookie incident. He was beginning to wonder if maybe the guy had started eating all of his meals out—or maybe he had noticed Hyesung staring and had switched up his grocery routine.

As he left the store that afternoon, with nothing but a packet of curry in hand—buying groceries every day could get expensive—his phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the number on the display, and not recognizing it. Normally he wouldn’t answer, but even talking to someone who had the wrong number for ten seconds would be a welcome distraction from his disappointment about the grocery store guy.

“Hello?” he asked, looking around the parking lot and trying to remember where he had parked his car.

“Shin Hyesung?”

“Speaking. Who is this?” He shoved the curry packet in his jacket pocket, hurrying to his car to get out of the cold wind as quickly as possible.

“Um…well, you don’t actually know me. Your friend Junjin gave me your number. We ran into each other yesterday at the grocery store, and he was telling me about you, and said it seemed like we had a lot in common. I’m really sorry. This sounds so weird. I guess he didn’t mention it to you?”

“Oh…um…no. He didn’t,” Hyesung said, sitting stationary in his car—unable to decide whether to drive toward his own house, toward Junjin’s to murder him, or to just sit in the parking lot and faint. It had taken a few seconds to realize who the voice belonged to, but once he made the connection he could feel his heart trying to claw its way out of his chest at the thought of the man on the other side of the call.

“I’m seriously so sorry. I know this is awkward. Anyway, if you ever wanted to get coffee or something, I live near that store. I’ve actually seen you there a few times. Well—it’s not like I’m following you—it’s just that I live in the area, so I go there a lot. And I noticed you. Wow. OK. I’m going to stop talking now,” the man said, sounding much less sure of himself than what Hyesung would have expected from his statuesque image.

“No! No. You don’t have to stop talking. I’d…love to have coffee sometime. If you really want to. Since you live in the area. And I work close by. I don’t really know anyone near there, except for Junjin, so…” Hyesung covered his face with the hand that wasn’t holding the phone—feeling the need to hide himself even though he was alone in his car.

“Oh. That’s great. That’s perfect. Yeah. So, coffee. Any time,” the man said, sounding almost relieved.

“Yeah. Any time…”

“Great. Well, I’ll talk to you soon? Whenever you’re free? Or you could text me…”

“Sure. I’ll text you,” Hyesung said, smiling now at how cute and awkward this guy was. He hadn’t imagined that from the way he carried himself—even after their brief exchange with the cookies.

“OK. Sounds good. Talk to you later, Hyesung.”

“Oh! Wait. You didn’t tell me your name.” He hadn’t meant to shout in the guy’s ear, but it didn’t seem fair to have come so far without at least finding out what he should call the other man. Besides, he needed something to enter his contact info under.

“It’s Eric.”

Eric. Maybe it hadn’t been a mistake to mention him to Junjin after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've...never written an AU before so I don't know what I'm doing. But, anyway, challenge complete for this week! ^^


	2. Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyesung and Eric have an awkward coffee date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on writing a second part to this, but Magal & a very sweet anon on tumblr asked, so...here we go! Hope it doesn't disappoint. ^^;;; I haven't edited it very well, but it's already Thursday and I have some other stuff I wanted to write before the week is up, so I'll fix any mistakes later.

Hyesung threw his iPhone on the coffee table and sighed. It had been an entire day and he still hadn’t been able to think of a way to ask Eric out for coffee.

“You know, hyung, it’s not like you have to do much. He already asked you, you just have to tell him when you’re free,” Junjin said from the couch. He was grinning up at Hyesung, enjoying the situation way too much.

“If you don’t have any suggestions, then why don’t you go? I’m trying to think,” Hyesung said, sinking into couch and beating his head against the arm rest.

“Well, I did have some suggestions. ‘Are you free tomorrow around 5?’ and ‘Coffee tomorrow?’ got shot down. How about ‘As I’ve told my friend twenty-five times, you probably only asked me out for coffee because you felt pressured and I’m sure you don’t actually want to go so don’t feel obligated but if you actually really did want to go I’m free tomorrow but we don’t have to go tomorrow really any time is fine if you just let me know when you’re free and I’m so sorry I shouldn’t ask I’m probably pressuring you again if you don’t want to go I completely understand’?” Junjin asked, dodging Hyesung’s slaps expertly.

“What if he really did only ask because he felt pressured? Oh god. What did you say to him, anyway?” Hyesung said, giving up on trying to hit Junjin and throwing himself back against the arm rest again.

“I told him if he didn’t go out to coffee with you, you’d probably waste away into nothingness, and it would be all his fault,” Junjin said, looking very serious. “Oh, come on, hyung! I just said I recognized him from the other day with the cookies, brought you up, and told him you two should hang out and have coffee sometime. He said it sounded like fun. It’s not like I forced him to call you at gun point,” he said, laughing again.

“It’s not funny,” Hyesung said, frowning. “What if he’s busy tomorrow?”

“Isn’t that why you’re texting him? You want to know if he’s busy tomorrow?”

“Shut up if you’re not going to help.” Hyesung pouted.

“Seriously? Just ask if he’s busy tomorrow then,” Junjin said, patting Hyesung on the leg sympathetically and stealthily reaching for his phone.

“I can’t, Jinnie, it’s hopeless,” Hyesung groaned, covering his face with his hands. “He’s probably busy. He’s probably angry that I didn’t already text him. If he wanted to go at all.”

“Well, he’s not busy,” Junjin said, patting Hyesung on the leg again.

“What? How do you know that?”

“I just asked him. He said ‘I’m free after 5. Do you want to get some coffee?’ Then, right after that ‘I’m sorry, I just have some work due. Normally I’d be free all day on Fridays. If you can’t make it, I understand.’ Wow. He’s as awkward as you are. Maybe you two shouldn’t meet up after all,” Junjin had to jump up from the couch, abandoning the phone, to avoid being kicked.

“You texted him? How could you text him? I wasn’t ready yet!” Hyesung grabbed the phone off of the cushion, reading over the text messages several times.

“See, it’s not so hard. Now you just have to tell him after 5 is fine. You don’t get off work until then, anyway,” Junjin moved toward the door, grabbing his jacket on the way.

“Where are you going now?” Hyesung asked, exasperated, still reading and re-reading the messages.

“I have a date, remember? Unlike you, I can send a text message in under 48 hours. You should probably respond quickly or one of you might get an ulcer.”

* * *

It was 5:41 and Eric still hadn’t shown up at the coffee shop. Hyesung had been sitting in his car until 5:30 on the dot, despite leaving work fifteen minutes early to make sure he made it on time. He hadn’t seen Eric walk into the shop, so he had rushed in, hoping the other man hadn’t been waiting for him too long. It was almost a relief that Eric wasn’t there yet—but now that he was 11 minutes late, Hyesung was starting to get annoyed and anxious. What was he supposed to do while he waited? Order a coffee? But then if Eric was really late, he might finish the coffee before he got there. And if he didn’t drink it, it would melt down. And what if Eric had gotten in a car accident or something on the way there? What if he was blowing Hyesung off?

At 5:43, when Hyesung was starting to worry about the ulcer Junjin had warned him about, the door opened, and the then-familiar man hurried through it. Spotting Hyesung, he bowed his head like a scolded child and walked over to the table.

“I’m so, so sorry. I turned in everything at 5 but my professor wanted to ask me about something else I’m working on, and I got held up. I really thought you were going to leave. I’m so glad you’re still here. Not that I would blame you if you had left,” Eric said, in a rush, head still bowed slightly, and not making eye contact. He seemed to be trying to make himself small as he explained himself. Hyesung couldn’t help but feel his annoyance evaporate, and he smiled up at him.

“I was running behind, too. I didn’t wait long. It’s not a big deal,” he lied, moving his bag out of the way so Eric would have room for his own things.

“Oh, really? That’s good. I’m still really sorry, though. It won’t happen again,” Eric said, taking the seat across from Hyesung at the small table. “Oh, not that I’m…” he froze. “Not that I’m assuming anything. You might not want to see me again after today.”

Hyesung continued to stare at him, unable to stop himself. No, this definitely wasn’t what he had expected from this man’s looks. And to think he’d tortured himself over a text message.

“I guess you didn’t order yet? What would you like? I’ll get it for you,” Eric said, standing abruptly.

Hyesung was yanked out of his thoughts, and began to fumble for his wallet—nervous once again.

“No, no, I’m paying for it. I asked you first. Plus, I was late,” Eric said, taking a step back and refusing to take Hyesung’s money.

“Still, I…” Hyesung noted the cute, stubborn expression on Eric’s face and put his money away, unable to stop himself from smiling again. “An iced Americano, please.”

“Be right back,” Eric said, smiling for the first time that afternoon.

* * *

A few minutes later, and carrying two Americanos—one hot and one cold—Eric returned to the table.

“I didn’t know if you wanted cream or sugar, so I ordered it without. Do you need some?”

“No. Thank you,” Hyesung said, taking the iced Americano and waiting for Eric to sit down before taking a sip.

“I thought I was the only one who liked things this bitter,” Eric said, taking the lid off of his own coffee to let it cool. Hyesung glanced at it, seeing that Eric’s was black, as well.

“You don’t like sweet things?”

“Only in moderation,” Eric said, looking up and smiling again. Hyesung felt himself blushing, but couldn’t say why. “You?”

“I do, but not my coffee,” Hyesung responded. Then, realizing he was still staring at Eric and blushing, “So, you’re a student? You said you were talking to your professor.”

“Huh? Oh, right, sorry,” Eric said, shaking his head abruptly. He looked down at his coffee and stirred it a couple of times, watching the steam leave the cup. “Yeah, I’m working on my dissertation.”

“Ah. You must be smart,” Hyesung said, still not able to take his eyes off of the man in front of him as he placed the lid back on his Americano, taking a tentative sip and apparently burning his mouth—judging by the way he jumped back a little and glared at the cup like it had wronged him.

“No, not really. If I was smart I would have graduated and moved on like a normal person. How about you? Your friend said you’re a developer.”

“You don’t have to be smart to be a developer. Junjin is one, after all,” Hyesung said, raising his eyebrows in imitation and taking another sip of his Americano.

“You two must be close,” Eric said, blowing on his coffee again, despite the lid being on it already, and frowning slightly. “He had a lot of good things to say about you.”

“Ah. Did he?” Hyesung blushed again, scratching his neck awkwardly. “What did he say?”

“You’re smart, driven, talented, gorgeous,” Eric paused, smiling, “and don’t have many friends around here.”

“He said all of that?”

“He did.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Hyesung muttered, still blushing.

“He seems to really like you,” Eric said, looking down at his hands.

“He should. I’m the only reason he gets any work done these days. He’s so busy with his new boyfriend,” Hyesung added, hoping he wasn’t misinterpreting the jealous little signals he was noticing—because he was starting to feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

“He has a boyfriend?” Eric asked, so eagerly he almost knocked over his own coffee, and throwing his hand over his phone, which was lying next to it on the table, for protection.

“Yeah. They met in college, but Junjin just convinced him to go out with him. They’re really cute. Junjin’s head over heels.” The hairs on the back of his neck were definitely standing up. He was also getting goosebumps. Maybe he should have gotten a hot coffee, too, because it seemed like the hopeful signs he was getting from the other man were too much for his poor body.

“Wow. That’s great. I feel a lot b—I feel like he deserves it—to be in love and happy. He seems like a nice guy,” Eric said, clearing his throat and taking a huge gulp of the still-hot espresso.

“Yes. So,” Hyesung cleared his own throat, gathering his courage, “how about you? Do you have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?”

“What? No. Of course not,” Eric said, a little too quickly. Hyesung almost thought he could see him blushing a bit—he definitely was.

“Ah. That’s…too bad.”

“Why? Do you have one?” Eric looked down at his hands, still clutching the cardboard cup.

“No. I don’t. And it’s just too bad. You seem smart, driven, talented…gorgeous.” Hyesung put his coffee down, covering his face with his Americano-frozen hands in disbelief at what he had just said. He could hear Eric laughing, but couldn’t bear to pull his hands away and look.

“He didn’t tell me you were so flirty. Or cute,” Eric said, having to pause a couple of times to continue laughing.

“I can’t believe I said that. I’m so sorry. I’m being rude,” Hyesung groaned, slumping over further on the table.

“You’re not rude at all. I was hoping this was a date, but I was too nervous to ask.”

Hyesung finally cracked his fingers enough to see through them, looking up at Eric, who was grinning—and definitely blushing now.

“You were nervous?”

“I’m still nervous. My hands are shaking, look,” Eric held out one of his trembling hands for Hyesung’s inspection. “This isn’t the caffeine.”

“So this is a date?” Hyesung lifted his head, glancing between Eric’s hands and his face.

“Well, if you want it to be,” Eric responded, holding his coffee with both hands again. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“No. I want it to be, too.” Hyesung looked down at his own hands, smiling.

* * *

 “Not to sound like a stalker, but going to the grocery store every day to get a glimpse of you was worth it,” Eric said, walking beside Hyesung as he headed to his car.

“You went to see me?” Hyesung asked, stopping to look at the slightly taller man. He looked so good in a formfitting waffle knit shirt and a navy jacket that Hyesung felt his heart jump into his throat all over again.

“Well, it sounds weird, maybe, saying it that way. I mean, I do live near here. And I do go to that store a lot, but…after the first time I saw you, I started going more often, in case you were there,” Eric laughed nervously, turning his phone over and over again in his hand.

“The first time I saw you there was my first time shopping there, actually. I went back to…well…I noticed you. I didn’t know you had even seen me before that day with the cookies,” Hyesung said, standing still next to his car, avoiding Eric’s gaze.

“How could I not notice you? Look at you,” Eric said. When Hyesung looked up, Eric was smiling at him. “I think I’m going to write a thank you note to that cookie manufacturer.”

“I’ll write the store manager, then.”

Eric laughed.

“We can compare letters next time, then. Over dinner?” he asked, tentatively.

Hyesung glanced at him, surprised. He’d been expecting to go home and draft some awkward texts, trying to work up the courage to ask Eric on a second date.

“Yeah, sure. I’d love that,” he said.

“Text me, then, whenever you want,” Eric responded, nodding, and turning to walk toward the bus stop. Hyesung stood, frozen, next to his car. He wanted to say goodbye, but his mouth was having trouble catching up with his wishes.

“Wait! Eric! Are you hungry now? I know a sashimi place…”


	3. Sashimi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A car ride, sashimi, some text messages, and another conversation with Junjin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took all week to write and I'm still not satisfied, but...well, here we are. I'm thinking there will probably be 1-2 more chapters?

“Hyung! Do you know what time it is?”

“Jin-ah! What the hell are you doing in my apartment?” Hyesung jumped, tripping over some shoes and cursing. Finding Junjin on the couch, in the dark, when he opened the door was more than a little unexpected.

“I came straight here after work to see how your date went. How many Americanos did you drink? I thought you were kidnapped. Oh. Wait. Oh my god, hyung, did you…did he…hyung!” Junjin jumped off of the couch, meeting Hyesung in the hallway and nearly knocking him over, like an excited puppy.

“Junjin. Calm down,” Hyesung said, trying to push Junjin back so he could walk into the apartment.

“How can I calm down? You had coffee at 5:30 and it’s 11:00 now. Did he _touch_ you? Oh my god. Did you go back to his place?” Junjin wouldn’t let go, so Hyesung had to drag him along as he walked to the kitchen.

“Are you crazy? Of course I didn’t go back to his place. Did you eat espresso beans while you were waiting again?” Hyesung said, letting Junjin hold onto his jacket sleeve as he poured himself a glass of water.

“Only a handful; I started to get sleepy. But that’s not important. If you didn’t go back to his place, well, then…in the car? Hyung!” Junjin pouted, looking extremely disappointed in him.

“Park Junjin. If you’re going to be like that, I’ll see you at work on Monday. I’m tired,” Hyesung said, closing the fridge, but not bothering to shake Junjin off of him, in spite of what he said.

“I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t. Not on the first date, anyway…”

“Junjin!”

“I’m kidding, hyung, I’m kidding. Are you going to tell me about it or not? I’m going crazy,” Junjin said, grabbing Hyesung’s glass of water and hurrying into the living room with it. He sat down on the couch and held up the glass. All Hyesung could do was follow.

“Shouldn’t you be on a date or something right now, anyway? Why are you sitting in my apartment in the dark?” Hyesung asked, taking the glass and settling back on the couch, shoving Junjin away from him with his legs, and stretching them out.

“You know what he’s like when he’s working. He’s so scary. And he doesn’t like to play with me,” Junjin said, pouting again from the far end of the couch.

“But you’re not scared of me?” Hyesung asked, raising his fist playfully, even though they were well separated by his long legs.

“Hyung is scary too,” Junjin conceded, shrinking back in mock fright. “But you’re not going to distract me this time. I want to know what you two did for almost six hours.”

“We had coffee,” Hyesung said, carefully, and pausing to take a sip of his water. “And then...we had sashimi.”

“Sashimi? Hyung! Why are you smiling? Is sashimi another word for something?” Junjin knocked Hyesung’s legs off of the couch and moved closer, too excited to sit so far away.

“Ya! Do you really want me to kick you out? Sashimi is sashimi. We were hungry so we ate. That’s all that happened,” Hyesung said, frowning, but letting Junjin sit closer, nevertheless.

“I don’t believe you, hyung. You two could hardly text each other yesterday and now you’re telling me you had a conversation that lasted all the way through coffee and dinner and no one touched anyone?”

“All right, Junjin, that’s enough. Time for you to go. I’ll see you on Monday,” Hyesung said, putting his glass down to shoo Junjin with both hands. Junjin put his arms in the air, immediately self-reflecting.

“I promise I’ll be good. Just tell me how you ended up having sashimi. I’ll be quiet, I promise.”

 

* * *

 

 

Hyesung was nervous, having Eric in his car. Especially since it was filled with supermarket receipts and empty coffee cups—being busy with work wasn’t really an excuse, but it was the only one he had. Eric didn’t seem to mind, though, just kicked some of the cups out of the way and sat down on top of the receipts.

“I’m sorry it’s such a mess in here, but…” Hyesung said, watching him try to pull the bottom of his seatbelt from under some compacted plastic cups.

“Don’t worry,” Eric said, finally getting the seatbelt buckled and smiling at him. “I can’t even drive.”

Hyesung smiled back, relieved a little.

“Although,” Eric continued, “you seem like the type who would be really obsessed with his car.”

“Yeah? Maybe if I had a nicer car,” Hyesung said, embarrassed, and put the car into gear with a little too much force.

“Did I make you angry? I’m only joking,” Eric said, worried.

“No, no. I’m not angry.” Hyesung pulled into traffic so quickly Eric clutched his seatbelt.

“You sure?” he asked, sounding doubtful. Then, after a few seconds, “I’m sorry, but you’re really cute when you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry!” Hyesung insisted, blushing.

“OK. Sorry,” Eric said, smiling again, but not acting as if he were completely convinced. “But, either way, you’re really cute.”

Hyesung was driving, so he couldn’t even use his hands to hide his blushing face.

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn’t a very long drive, and the rest of it passed mostly in silence. Hyesung concentrated on driving in the heavy traffic, while Eric bobbed his head to the faint music on the radio and stole occasional glances. When they reached the restaurant, Hyesung was relieved—driving at night always made him anxious—but Eric seemed disappointed for some reason.

“You do like sashimi, right?” Hyesung asked, unfastening his seatbelt.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I love sashimi. When you said this place was close, though, I didn’t know it would be _so_ close,” Eric responded, with an indecipherable expression.

“Have you been here before? You don’t like it? We can go somewhere else,” Hyesung said, immediately putting the key back in the ignition.

“No! No. It’s not that. I didn’t even know this place was here. It’s just…no. It’s too cheesy. Let’s go inside and eat,” Eric said, unbuckling his own seatbelt and reaching for the door handle.

“Eric,” Hyesung said, touching Eric’s arm lightly, and giving himself goosebumps in the process.

“I just hoped the ride would be longer. I liked being in the car with you,” Eric said, bowing his head again like a child and quickly climbing out of the car—leaving Hyesung still sitting inside, speechless.

 

* * *

 

 

When Eric said he liked sashimi, he was downplaying his passion. Hyesung had never seen someone light up so much over raw fish. He had also never seen a 25-year-old man who was so adorable. The more he ate, the more he opened up—talking about his dissertation, about his dog, Gomdori, and about his cute niece, mostly.

“What?” Eric finally asked, putting down his chopsticks and leaning back in his seat, sticking his belly out.

“Huh?” Hyesung asked.

“You’re smiling. What is it?” Eric asked, again.

“Oh,” Hyesung said, looking down at his plate and poking around with his chopsticks, blushing for what must have been the thirtieth time that evening. “Nothing. I just…like you.”

When Eric didn’t respond, Hyesung looked up, trying to gauge his expression, and saw that the other man was covering his face with both hands. Hyesung panicked, trying to fix the situation.

“I mean, it’s not, I don’t...I just mean…I’m sorry,” he said. The awkwardness had finally gone away and he’d managed to bring it back again.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m trying not to do a victory dance in this restaurant. I’m too full,” Eric said, with his hands still hovering over his face, half-covering his smile.

Hyesung couldn’t help but grin back.

 

* * *

 

 

It was Monday again, and Hyesung glanced at his phone, tapping his foot in anticipation of reading the messages he could see popping up. If he hadn’t spent the entire weekend going over his date repeatedly in his head—and out loud, with Junjin—then he might have gotten his work done on time. Now, however, he had no time to read Eric’s texts. And it was driving him crazy. Every time he saw his phone screen light up, he felt his heartbeat increase.

He had thought it would be awkward to text Eric, even after their date(s), but it had been surprisingly easy. Everything Eric said was funny and cute, and made his heart flutter—even the stuff that would have annoyed him coming from anyone else. He hated himself a little bit for it, but he couldn’t help it.

It would have been nice to have Eric to go with him in person, instead of just through messages, when Junjin forced him to do things like be the third wheel on his dates with his boyfriend—usually movie dates, where Hyesung sat a seat apart from the couple and tried to wish himself out of existence because it was so awkward. Junjin seemed to think he was doing Hyesung a favor by forcing him to go, but Hyesung didn’t feel quite the same way about it—even though, otherwise, he would probably spend the entire weekend in his apartment alone.

He and Eric had talked about going on a second date on Friday, which seemed way too far away, but Hyesung didn’t want Eric to think he was completely desperate. Until then, he just had text messages. Text messages he couldn’t wait to read.

Finally, at 5:05, his work was finished. He shut down his computer immediately and didn’t even bother to pack his bag properly—just stuffed everything in and grabbed his phone, ignoring Junjin, who asked if he was finished already.

 

 **Eric:** Hyesung-ie! You at work? Just turned in my draft.

 **Eric:** Guess you’re at work, then. Good luck on that project!

 **Eric:** If you have time tomorrow after work, do you want to go out for drinks or something?

 **Eric:** I haven’t been out for a drink in a while. Thought I’d ask you. ^^

 **Eric:** I know we talked about Friday, so it’s OK if you’re busy until then, or if you don’t want to go. Just, if you have time, and if you want to.

 **Eric:** Sorry for sending so many messages while you’re working! Hope I’m not distracting you.

 **Eric:** Oh, and here’s a picture of Gomdori. He wants to meet you.

 **Eric:** That might have sounded creepy. I didn’t mean for it to be creepy. But he has heard a lot about you.

 **Eric:** OK that’s creepier. Sorry.

 **Eric:** Sorry again. I know you’re at work! Augh.

 

Hyesung read and re-read the messages a few times, ignoring Junjin’s whining behind him. He pressed the button to call the elevator, then tried to calm himself down long enough to respond.

 

 **Hyesung:** Congrats on your draft! Did your professor say anything about it yet?

 **Hyesung:** Just got off of work. I’d love to have drinks tomorrow. Tell Gomdori I want to meet him, too. ^^

 

The elevator closed and opened three times before Hyesung stopped smiling at his phone long enough to walk into it. Eric was definitely way too cute.


	4. Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ricsyung goes out for drinks, and Junjin is a little too curious about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't edited very well, so sorry in advance. May come back and fix stuff later. And I said last week this might end up being the last chapter, but I'm not sure anymore. I kind of like writing this one and writing Stained Glass at the same time because this one makes me less sad all week after writing the other one ^^

“I can’t believe you’re going out to drinks on a Tuesday night, hyung. You have work tomorrow. You should wait until the weekend. I think Eric-hyung is taking advantage of you,” Junjin said, pouting, as per usual, as he waited for Hyesung to put the pot of ramen on the table.  
  
“You drink on weeknights all the time. And since when did you start calling him hyung?” Hyesung asked. He passed Junjin a pair of chopsticks and started unloading some water and side dishes from the fridge.  
  
“If he’s dating my hyung, he’s my hyung, too, right?”  
  
Hyesung had to admire his simple logic, even though the thought of Eric and Junjin becoming close sent chills down his spine—he was afraid the two of them together might be too much to handle.  
  
“And at least I have an alcohol tolerance. You drink a bottle or two of soju and then you start kissing everybody until you pass out. If he doesn’t take advantage of you, you might try and take advantage of him,” Junjin said, talking around a mouthful of noodles so big it puffed out his cheeks.  
  
“Ya. That’s…that was one time!” Hyesung said, scratching the back of his head.  
  
“I think you should let me go with you so I can make sure you’re safe,” Junjin continued, as if Hyesung hadn’t spoken.  
  
“You’re not going on my date with me, Junjin.”  
  
“I ask you to go on dates with us all the time!” Junjin stuck his lower lip out for a second before shoveling his mouth full of noodles again.  
  
“And I tell you I don’t want to go, and that it’s awkward. No, Jinnie. Definitely not. I’m sorry,” Hyesung said—knowing he was too easily guilt tripped by the pouty lower lip.  
  
“It can be a double date,” Junjin pled.  
  
“Still no,” Hyesung said, firmly. He grabbed his chopsticks and stuck them into the pot, feeling around for some ramen and not finding any. “Junjin!”  
  
“Sorry! I was hungry. I’ll make more.”  
  


* * *

  
Eventually, Hyesung had relented and told Junjin where the date with Eric was taking place—in case there was a horrible emergency and he needed to be reached. He told Jinnie a thousand times that he was only to go there and find Hyesung if there was a horrible, terrible, life-threatening emergency, and Junjin had said he understood—but Hyesung still felt a little uneasy about the whole thing.  
  
There were a lot of things he felt uneasy about that evening, really, and Junjin was among the least of his worries. First of all, he’d driven his car to the bar right after work, even though they weren’t supposed to meet until 6:30. He didn’t want to waste the time and money to go there in a cab, and asking Junjin to drop him off and pick him up definitely wasn’t an option. But he was also nervous about how he would get home if he drank too much, and how he would get back to his car the next morning before work.  
  
Another concern was how he hadn’t eaten anything for dinner. He had plenty of time, probably, to eat, and he knew that his alcohol tolerance was amazingly low even without an empty stomach, but he didn’t want to get caught in traffic and end up being late. He thought about getting something near the bar, but by the time he got there his stomach was in knots and he didn’t feel like he could eat anything at all.  
  
Then there were his concerns about Eric—what if their conversation dried up, in person, even though it hadn’t through messaging? What if Eric’s alcohol tolerance was really high, and he ended up being embarrassed by how little he could drink? What if Eric really was trying to take advantage of him—they did barely know each other—then again, what type of person sent daily pictures of their puppy as part of a degenerate scheme?  
  
Most of all, he was worried that that he would say or do something that would make Eric not like him anymore.  
  
So, when Eric showed up at 6:00—a half hour early—Hyesung was already in a state of near panic. Hyesung watched him walk up to the bar—dressed in all black, leather jacket included—and sit down. He had seen Eric so many times before, and he always looked handsome, but watching him walk in like that, wearing leather, even, made Hyesung’s thinking very fuzzy. It took him a while to clear his thoughts enough to make his presence known.  
  
“Eric,” he called out, so quietly he could hardly hear his own voice. Before he could try again, though, Eric turned around and looked directly at him—finding him immediately.  
  
“Hyesung-ie! You’re already here.” He was even better looking when he smiled, and Hyesung couldn’t help but smile back, even though he felt suddenly even more self-conscious.  
  
“Yeah, I decided to just come after work,” Hyesung said.  
  
“Ah, I was hoping I’d make it here before you. I didn’t want to make you wait again,” Eric said, standing next to the table, but not pulling a chair out.  
  
“Don’t worry about it, I didn’t wait long. Is something wrong, though? Should we sit somewhere else?” Hyesung said. Eric standing next to the table, lit from behind by the lights from the bar was too much for his poor heart—it was trying to leap from his chest again.  
  
“Oh, no. This table is fine,” Eric said, still not taking a seat. “It’s just…you look amazing. I’m in shock. Not that you don’t always look amazing,” Eric said quickly, finally pulling the chair out from the table, “but…tonight…wow.”  
  
Hyesung didn’t know how to respond. He was wearing his work clothes—business casual, nothing fancy—and he had done his hair the same way and everything. And no matter what he was wearing, or how he’d done his hair, hearing Eric say  _he_  looked good was particularly bewildering.  
  
“I’m sorry. I made things awkward again,” Eric said, smiling apologetically.  
  
“No. You didn’t,” Hyesung said, deciding to take the compliment and figure it out later. “Thank you. You look handsome, too.”  
  
“Thanks,” Eric responded, bowing his head a little at the compliment, as if it was a genuine surprise to be called handsome. “So, what are we drinking?”  
  


* * *

  
Eric, who had been to the bar several times before, ordered some appetizers with their drinks, and an hour later Hyesung was feeling warm and happy, but not quite drunk. The food was good—it had taken him a drink and a half to get his stomach unknotted enough to try any of it—and being there with Eric was better. He felt silly for worrying that the conversation would dry up, because talking to Eric was surprisingly easy, once they got past the initial pleasantries. He was funny, and a little strange, but refreshingly honest, and seemed genuinely curious about Hyesung.  
  
Hyesung, on the other hand, had a nervous habit of chattering endlessly to fill awkward silences, but didn’t have to worry about that with Eric. Normally he would fall silent when someone asked him too many questions—but with Eric, he felt like he could talk about most anything. Occasionally, he’d get distracted by the other man’s profile, or the way he smiled, and lose track of the conversation, but Eric always graciously repeated whatever it was he’d been saying, and didn’t seem to mind.  
  
They were sitting on the same side of the table, watching a video on Eric’s phone of his niece dancing to some idol group’s song, when Junjin and his boyfriend walked in.  
  
Hyesung wasn’t exactly surprised—he had a pretty good idea of what would happen when Junjin had begged for the bar’s address the night before—but it still didn’t make his appearance any less annoying. Eric didn’t seem to notice him at first, but when the video ended, he followed Hyesung’s gaze.  
  
“Isn’t that Junjin?” he asked, tilting his head to the side and squinting in a way that was so cute, Hyesung felt a little less annoyed at Junjin for making it happen.  
  
“Yeah, that’s him,” Hyesung said, pursing his lips.  
  
“We should call him over, then, right?”  
  
“No! No. If he doesn’t see us, then that’s better. He’s probably on a date, so we shouldn’t disturb them,” Hyesung responded, just as Junjin spotted them.  
  
“Hyung! What a coincidence! It’s a small world, right?” Junjin grabbed his boyfriend by the elbow, dragging him over to the table behind him.  
  
“Junjin,” Hyesung said, trying to smile through gritted teeth.  
  
“Yes, nice to meet you again,” Eric said, offering his hand to shake. Junjin took it, briefly, giving him a huge smile.  
  
“You, too! And this is my boyfriend, Andy,” he said, pulling the other man from behind him. Andy nodded, offering his hand to Eric, as well.  
  
“Nice to meet you, too. Would you two like to sit with us? We’ve already had a couple of rounds, but you’re welcome to join us.” Eric pointed to the empty seats across from him and Hyesung.  
  
“You don’t mind, right, hyung?” Junjin asked, already sitting down, with a huge grin on his face. Andy looked less thrilled, but took a seat across from Eric, anyway.  
  
“Aren’t you two on a date? You probably don’t want to sit with us,” Hyesung said, kicking Junjin under the table.  
  
“Ouch! No, it’s OK, we already had dinner. We just thought we’d have drinks after. It’s more fun to drink with more people, anyway, right?” Junjin asked, looking through the drink menu over Andy’s shoulder.  
  
“It’s not very romantic, though,” Hyesung said, giving him another kick.  
  
“No, but there’s plenty of time for romance, later. We shouldn’t let such a great coincidence pass us by, right?” Junjin looked at Eric this time, and Eric smiled back at him, shrugging.  
  


* * *

  
Just as Hyesung feared, Eric and Junjin got along far too well. After another hour, Hyesung had seen sides of Eric that he probably wouldn’t have gotten to see, otherwise, so he was a little bit grateful to Junjin, but mostly he was jealous. It wasn’t like he was worried that Junjin and Eric would get together—Junjin had spent five years of his life chasing Andy, and Eric didn’t seem like the type to run off with the best friend—but he was certainly being paid less attention this way.  
  
Andy had seemed annoyed by how the date was going at first, too, but after the first hour he seemed pleasantly tipsy, and perfectly willing to go along with Junjin and Eric’s jokes and stories. He was even holding Junjin’s hand in a very sweet way Hyesung hadn’t known he was capable of—and he was already calling Eric “hyung”.  
  
Hyesung had a couple of drinks too many in the second hour of the date—partly because he was nervous, and partly because he was annoyed with Junjin and drinking gave him something to do to take his mind off of wanting to kill the man sitting across from him. When Jinnie had told him, politely, that he was drinking too much, it had made him want to drink even more. He had gotten a little past tipsy and pleasant-feeling with the last drink, and he knew he was leaning against Eric, but couldn’t remember if he should care or not.  
  
“Has Hyesung-hyung showed you his crab dance, yet? It’s so cute. I mean, it’s so cute it’ll piss you off,” Junjin said, laughing at the thought of it.  
  
“No. Hyesung didn’t tell me he could dance,” Eric said, turning to Hyesung and smiling.  
  
Hyesung blushed, despite the alcohol. He wanted to kick Junjin again, but he was a little too wobbly to try it.  
  
“He’s a master dancer. He’s got another one—”  
  
“Park Junjin! No!” Hyesung said, a little more loudly than he’d anticipated.  
  
“Why not, hyung? It’s cute,” Junjin said, pouting at Hyesung again, who scowled. “Fine, then. I’ll tell you about it later.”  
  
The waiter walked up at that moment—probably saving Hyesung and Junjin from a bar fight—and asked if they’d like another round of drinks. Hyesung ordered one, even though Junjin told him, again, that he shouldn’t drink anymore.  
  
The interruption caused Junjin to finally turn his attention back to his own boyfriend, though, and he caressed Andy’s hand, on the tabletop, even picking it up and kissing it. Andy let him do it, and even rested his head on the other man’s shoulder, looking quite satisfied.  
  
As Hyesung sipped his new drink, he knew it was going to happen—his drinking habit. He knew he shouldn’t finish the drink, if there was any chance of stopping it—but he drained it, anyway, and turned slightly in his seat to look at Eric.  
  
“Andy and I met in college, but Hyesung-hyung and I have known each other since grade school. We used to live next door to each other so we became friends, even though he’s a little older than me. He got me a job at his company, and everything, when I graduated,” Junjin was explaining, but Hyesung couldn’t focus on what he was saying.  
  
Eric looked too good. Dangerously good. So handsome he was unbearable. Hyesung licked his lips, watching Eric’s Adam’s apple bob as he took a small sip of his drink. Yes. It was definitely happening. And he couldn’t stop it—he knew he should, but he didn’t really want to.  
  
“Eric,” he said, putting his hand on the other man’s shoulder.  
  
“Hm?” Eric asked, turning toward him.  
  
Hyesung kissed him. So quickly Eric didn’t have a chance to react. He pulled away, just as quickly, licking his lips again and trying to gauge Eric’s reaction—but judging by the way his head was spinning, he thought he might not be that perceptive.  
  
Eric helped him out by moving in for another kiss.  
  
“Hyung, we’re in a bar!” Junjin whined from across the table.


	5. Meeting Gomdori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyesung and Eric make a post-kiss date (with Junjin's assistance, as always)

“How’s your head, hyung?” Junjin asked, handing Hyesung a cup of coffee in the break room.  
  
“It would be OK if someone hadn’t crashed my date and made me nervous, so I had too many drinks. But since someone  _did_ do all of that, it hurts,” Hyesung replied, accepting the coffee and taking a sip.  
  
“I thought it was fun. And I think you had fun, too,” Junjin said, grinning.  
  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hyesung said.  
  
“Oh, I was just talking about how you jumped Eric-hyung at the table—”  
  
“Park Junjin! That is not what happened! I didn’t jump anybody, I—”  
  
“Hyesung, Junjin, shouldn’t you be working on something?” their boss asked, sticking his head in the door.  
  
Hyesung stopped talking immediately and plastered a smile on his face.  
  
“Yes, sir. We were just having some coffee. Hyesung-hyung isn’t feeling very well,” Junjin explained, putting on his best sympathetic expression.  
  
“Oh, that’s too bad. Do you think you need to go home, Hyesung? You shouldn’t be here if you’re sick,” their boss said, looking at Hyesung more closely.  
  
“I’m fine!” Hyesung said, smiling, as he kicked Junjin under the table.  
  


* * *

  
**Eric:**  Good morning! Did you get home OK?  
 **Hyesung:** Good morning. Yeah. I did. Sorry I didn’t text you. I sort of fell asleep. Did you?  
 **Eric:** Yeah. Junjin dropped me off, too. Guess you don’t remember. ^^

  
  
Despite his headache, Hyesung banged his head against his desk.  
  
“You’re going to ruin the furniture, hyung. Did you say something stupid again?” Junjin asked, handing Hyesung a folder as he walked by. Hyesung ignored him, looking down at his phone again.

  
  
 **Eric:** Actually, Junjin texted me when he dropped you off, too. I just wanted a reason to text you this morning and didn’t know what else to say.  
 **Hyesung:** You don’t have to have a reason to text me.

  
  
Hyesung groaned, and put his face in his hands.  
  
“Guess that’s a yes, then,” Junjin said, sitting down on the edge of Hyesung’s desk.

  
  
 **Eric:** I do because I’m nervous…  
 **Hyesung:** Why are you nervous?

  
  
“Probably because last time he saw you, you attacked him and tried to stick your tongue down his throat,” Junjin said, reading over his shoulder.  
  
“Ya!” Hyesung turned his phone over, blushing.  
  
“Well, you did.”

  
  
 **Eric:** Well, I kind of have a favor to ask you.

  
  
“See, that’s why you don’t kiss someone on the second date, hyung. I bet he’s going to ask you for something dirty,” Junjin said.  
  
“Don’t you have to get back to work, Junjin?” Hyesung asked glaring at his friend.  
  
“It’s my lunch break. You’re the one who’s supposed to be working,” Junjin replied, taking a lazy bite of his food, and spilling some of it on Hyesung’s desk.  
  
Hyesung gave him a dirty look, then glanced back down at his phone. He couldn’t think of anything Eric would ask him for that he wouldn’t do, even if it was…he blushed, thinking about it. But he couldn’t imagine Eric asking for something like that.

  
  
 **Hyesung:** Don’t be nervous. What is it?  
 **Eric:** Well, you know how we planned on going out on Friday?

  
  
Hyesung sighed, and looked at Junjin, pouting.  
  
“Now he wants to cancel our date, Jinnie. I shouldn’t have kissed him. Now he doesn’t like me,” Hyesung said.  
  
“Oh, he definitely likes you, hyung. I thought you were going to rip each other’s clothes off at the bar. For two people who are so awkward and shy, it was kind of scary,” Junjin said, in what he probably thought was a reassuring way.

  
  
 **Hyesung:** Yeah?  
 **Eric:** It looks like my parents are coming to town tomorrow, now. And they want to have dinner with me on Friday.  
 **Hyesung:** Oh. That’s OK! We can just postpone until whenever you’re free again.  
 **Eric:** I still really want to see you, though.  
 **Hyesung:** Me too.

  
  
“Awww,” Junjin said, patting Hyesung’s head, affectionately.  
  
“Don’t read other people’s messages,” Hyesung warned, way too late.

  
  
 **Eric:** OK, so this is probably asking too much, since we’ve only met up a couple of times, but would you maybe want to still have dinner?  
 **Eric:**  It doesn’t have to be a scary meeting-my-parents thing.  
 **Eric:** I mean, you’d meet my parents. But it wouldn’t be scary. And there’s no pressure or anything.  
 **Eric:**  I can introduce you as my friend, if you want. Whatever makes you comfortable.

  
  
“What do I say?” Hyesung asked, turning to Junjin.  
  
“To what, hyung? It’s rude to read over your shoulder,” Junjin said, taking another huge bite of his lunch.  
  
“To this!” Hyesung shoved his phone in Junjin’s face. Junjin didn’t look at the phone, but shrugged.  
  
“I don’t know. Do you want to see him on Friday?” he asked—mouth still full of food.  
  
“Of course I want to see him,” Hyesung said, frowning.  
  
“Are you curious about meeting his parents?”  
  
“Yes,” Hyesung admitted. He didn’t know that much about Eric’s family—only that he seemed to be very close to his mom, and had a cute niece.  
  
“Well, why not? It’s not like you’re getting their permission to date, or anything. There’s not really any pressure,” Junjin answered, shrugging. He threw his leftovers in the paper-only wastebasket at Hyesung’s feet and stood up to stretch.  
  
“Yeah, but what if they don’t like me? Then he won’t want to see me again. Or, if he does want to see me again, his parents could try and stop us from seeing each other. Oh my god. What if his parents don’t even know that he likes guys, Jinnie?” Hyesung asked, grabbing Junjin’s arm as he tried to walk away.  
  
“I think you’re watching too many dramas, hyung. Older people always like you because you’re cute. You don’t have much to worry about. Just don’t get drunk and jump him,” Junjin pulled away, and started walking back to his desk.  
  
“Ya! Park Junjin!”  
  
Junjin stuck his tongue out at him, and sat down.

  
  
 **Eric:** Ahhhh forget I said anything. I’m sorry. They’re going home after a week so we can just meet up after. Or maybe have lunch one day if I can distract them with something else?  
 **Hyesung:** I’d love to meet your parents.  
 **Eric:** Really? Are you sure?  
 **Hyesung:** I’m just a little nervous that they won’t like me.  
 **Eric:** Don’t worry about that. They’ll love you.  
 **Hyesung:** But what if they don’t?  
 **Eric:** Then I guess I have to disown my parents…  
 **Hyesung: =(**  
 **Eric:** I’m kidding. They’ll love you. Really.  
 **Hyesung:** I’ll probably be awkward, though.  
 **Eric:** I’ll do whatever I can to make you comfortable. But if you’re really nervous, you don’t have to do it.  
 **Hyesung:** No! I want to.  
 **Eric:** Want to come to my house after work on Friday? They’ll be here at 7, but you could keep me company while I cook.  
 **Hyesung:** Does this mean I finally get to meet Gomdori?  
 **Eric:** Of course! He’s excited.  
 **Hyesung:** I’m excited, too. See you on Friday.  
 **Eric: =)**

  
  
“You’re smiling, so I guess that means you said yes,” Junjin observed.  
  
“No thanks to you! Some friend you are,” Hyesung responded, frowning.  
  
“Don’t be mad, hyung! I was supporting you quietly from my desk,” Junjin said, holding up his hands in the shape of a heart.  
  


* * *

  
“Hyesung! You’re here,” Eric said, pushing the door open with a huge smile on his face. He was handsome, as always—dressed plainly, in dark jeans and a white t-shirt.  
  
Hyesung smoothed his hair and smiled nervously. It was the first time they’d seen each other since the kiss at the bar, and his face flushed, thinking about it.  
  
“Hi. Good to see you,” he said, nodding.  
  
“Good to see you, too. Come in,” Eric said, stepping back and holding the door open with one hand. When Hyesung was safely over the threshold, he let it fall shut, and brushed his hand over Hyesung’s arm in a way that may have been accidental, but gave Hyesung goosebumps.  
  
“Um, these are for you.” Hyesung held out the bags in his arms, and Eric took them, motioning for Hyesung to follow him into the kitchen.  
  
“You didn’t have to bring anything, you know,” Eric said, smiling, as he looked through them. Mostly, the contents were fruit. Plus a bottle of wine and a bag of dog treats.  
  
“I wanted to,” Hyesung said. “You’re cooking for me, after all, so the wine is for you. I thought we could have the fruit after dinner. I wasn’t sure what kind of dessert your parents would like. We don’t have to eat it…”  
  
“They’ll love it. But do you mind if I don’t share the wine? I kind of want to keep it for myself,” Eric said, inspecting the label.  
  
“I don’t mind. It’s yours,” Hyesung said. He smiled at Eric’s expression, despite his best efforts to keep his own neutral.  
  
“And I guess these are for Gomdori?” Eric asked, putting the wine down and holding up the dog treats.  
  
“You can have one, too, if you like,” Hyesung teased. Eric wrinkled his nose, but smiled.  
  
“Let me go get him. I put him in my room because he begs whenever I go into the kitchen,” Eric said. He brushed Hyesung’s shoulder as he walked by, and Hyesung briefly considered melting into a puddle in the floor.  
  
“Gomdori, someone’s here to see you,” Eric said from another room in the house. Hyesung laughed, hearing him. Eric talked to his dog like he was a person—not using the cute voice most people reserved for their pets. Gomdori seemed to respond enthusiastically, though, because his excited barks echoed through the apartment.  
  
He ran into the kitchen, skidding briefly on a rug Eric had next to his food bowl, and went immediately to Hyesung, pawing at his legs to be picked up.  
  
“You’re so cute, Gomdori! Even more handsome than in the pictures. You look like your dad,” Hyesung said, rubbing the dog’s ears with both hands. Hyesung blushed when he heard Eric laugh, but just kept playing with the puppy. “Is it OK if I pick him up?”  
  
“Sure. Don’t let him mess up your clothes, though. Want to give him one of the treats you bought?” Eric asked, holding out the bag.  
  
Hyesung nodded, and took a treat.  
  
Very quickly, Gomdori and Hyesung became the best of friends. Even when Eric tried to bribe him back with a piece of steak, Gomdori ignored him and stayed on Hyesung’s lap—happy to be petted and scratched.  
  
While the two of them played, Eric cooked dinner. Hyesung wasn’t much of a cook—he could do basic things, but for someone who had gone to the grocery store so frequently he mostly lived off of the types of foods that could be prepared in under 10 minutes. Eric, on the other hand, seemed to be very comfortable in the kitchen. Hyesung couldn’t help but be amazed by everything he did—even cutting vegetables looked impressive when it was Eric cutting them.  
  
“If my parents don’t stay too late, do you want have a glass of wine after they go?” Eric asked. Hyesung glanced at the clock on Eric’s range—it was almost 7 already. He had been so distracted by Gomdori, and chatting with Eric while he cooked, that he hadn’t even noticed the time passing.  
  
“Sure. I’d love that,” Hyesung said, smiling. He had been hoping Eric would ask him to share the wine ever since he’d asked about keeping it for himself.  
  
As Hyesung helped Eric set the table, with Gomdori running around frantically, trying to chase them both back and forth at once, the doorbell rang.  
  
“Are you nervous?” Eric asked, putting down the last of the serving dishes.  
  
Hyesung nodded—his throat was suddenly too dry to speak.  
  
“They really are going to love you,” Eric said, walking to his side and squeezing one of his hands reassuringly.  
  
Hyesung nodded again, and squeezed back.


	6. Eric's Parents

“Eric. Hold on a second,” Hyesung said, not letting go of the other man’s hand.  
  
“Hm?” Eric said, tilting his head to the side in that really cute way that gave Hyesung palpitations.  
  
“Do your parents…know? About…?” Hyesung asked, staring at a spot on Eric’s shoulder, instead of meeting his eyes.  
  
“About me being gay, you mean?” Eric asked. Hyesung nodded. “Yeah, they know. If you don’t want them to know about us, I won’t tell them, though.”  
  
“Will they be OK with it? If you tell them?” Hyesung asked, finally meeting Eric’s eyes.  
  
The doorbell rang again, and Hyesung jumped.  
  
“Coming!” Eric said loudly. “They aren’t going to be upset. They’re used to the idea, now. It’s been a long time since they found out,” he continued in a softer voice.  
  
“Can I keep holding your hand, then?” Hyesung asked.  
  
Eric smiled, and kissed Hyesung’s cheek quickly.  
  
“Wow, you’re cute. Come on. Let’s open the door before my mom breaks in,” Eric said leading him into the entryway, still holding his hand. Hyesung could barely walk on his own—the kiss and the nervousness were making his knees weak.  
  


* * *

  
“Eric! Finally! We thought you’d forgotten about us,” a woman said, as soon as the door was cracked. She walked in immediately, shoving the door open wider and throwing her arms around her son. Eric hugged her with one arm, still holding onto Hyesung with his other hand.  
  
“Who is this?” the man standing behind her asked. He forced his wife into the apartment so he could walk in, too, closing the door behind him.  
  
“Mom, Dad, this is Shin Hyesung,” Eric said, letting his mom go and holding up the hand that was holding Hyesung’s. Hyesung let go of Eric’s hand reluctantly, and bowed.  
  
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said. His voice came out so quietly he could hardly be heard. For a moment, no one spoke—all eyes were on Hyesung, who was so embarrassed he felt his cheeks burning, once again.  
  
“Hyesung?” Eric’s father asked, moving past his wife and taking Hyesung’s hand in his. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” He turned to his son, smiling. “He’s cute, Eric. Why didn’t you tell us about him?”  
  
“He is, isn’t he? But let’s go into the kitchen, first. The food is on the table,” Eric said, leading his father into the next room by the elbow, and turning to wink at Hyesung.  
  
Hyesung stood still, letting Eric’s mother walk ahead of him as well. However, once the other two men walked into the kitchen, she turned around immediately to face him.  
  
“Shin Hyesung?” she asked, looking him over.  
  
“Yes,” Hyesung said, licking his lips, and wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans.  
  
“And how long have you two known each other?” she asked, moving closer.  
  
“Not very long at all,” Hyesung said, looking at the floor.  
  
“You haven’t known each other very long, but my son is introducing you to us?”  
  
“Well, you see…” Hyesung swallowed hard, licking his lips again.  
  
Eric’s mother had moved so close to him, it was as if she were trying to appraise him—looking at every detail.  
  
Suddenly, she reached out both hands, putting them on Hyesung’s cheeks.  
  
“You must be very special. I can see it,” she said, smiling. “My husband is right. You’re cute.”  
  
“Mom! Stop scaring Hyesung-ie and let’s eat. The food is going to get cold,” Eric called from the kitchen.  
  
His mom patted each of Hyesung’s cheeks, then linked arms with him.  
  
“Let’s eat, then. And you can tell us everything about yourself,” she said, pulling him into the kitchen with her.  
  
At the table, Hyesung wanted to sit next to Eric, but his mother took the empty seat first, leaving Hyesung to sit across from her. Eric smiled at him, apologetically.  
  
“Yes, sit next to me,” his dad said to Hyesung. “You can’t eat sitting next to either of them, anyway. They want to hold hands all through dinner. You can barely use your utensils.”  
  
Eric’s mother scowled at him across the table, but Eric laughed, holding up the hand his mom was clinging to. Hyesung smiled, and nodded.  
  
“Let’s eat,” Eric said, motioning to the food with his free hand.  
  
There was silence for a couple of minutes, as everyone served themselves from the dishes in the middle of the table. Hyesung had been concerned about the etiquette—it was always strange and uncomfortable eating with other people’s families—but Eric’s parents seemed surprisingly laid back. They reached over the table, and passed things around, without needing to speak. Hyesung found himself being handed each and every dish, in turn, and he tried all of them. Apparently Eric’s family didn’t believe in courses, either, because everything was served and eaten at once.  
  
“So, Hyesung. How did you two meet?” Eric’s mother asked, as soon as her plate was filled.  
  
“Let him take at least a couple of bites of his food before you start asking him questions,” Eric’s father said. “This is delicious, by the way, Eric. Did you cook all of this?”  
  
“Yes. With Hyesung’s help,” Eric said.  
  
“I didn’t really do anything,” Hyesung admitted, immediately.  
  
“How would I have learned to cook so well if I didn’t go to the grocery store every day, trying to bump into you? Learning to use all of those ingredients was like going to culinary school,” Eric said, taking a huge bite of potato and smiling at Hyesung, who blushed again.  
  
“This is the boy from the supermarket?” Eric’s mom asked, putting down her fork to stare at Hyesung in shock. “Eric! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you finally introduced yourself. Look at him. He’s so good looking. I really thought you were trying to oversell him, but it was all true, wasn’t it?”  
  
“Mom, please,” Eric said. His face was as red as Hyesung’s.  
  
“What? I’m proud of you. You finally talked to him and now I’m getting to meet him. I almost feel like I’m meeting a celebrity,” she said, grinning at Hyesung.  
  


* * *

  
When everyone was done with dinner, Hyesung felt like he had never talked about himself so much in one sitting before. Eric’s mother knew almost as much about his family, what he liked and disliked, and his job, than Jinnie did—and they had known each other for nearly twenty years. She had asked questions about things that Hyesung didn’t even know it was possible to be curious about, and unlike other mothers, she couldn’t be diverted by asking questions about her own son—she just ignored them and said there would be plenty of time to talk about Eric later.  
  
Hyesung volunteered to cut the fruit. Eric’s mother asked him to go, instead, but Hyesung insisted that Eric had made dinner alone, so he should let him rest for a minute. So Eric and his parents went into the living room to wait, while Hyesung was left to take care of dessert. He wasn’t completely alone, though—Gomdori had spent most of dinner begging Hyesung for scraps, and continued to bounce around his feet in the kitchen.  
  
“Gomdori-yah, you can’t eat fruit. You’re a puppy,” Hyesung said, as Gomdori insistently pawed at his right leg. “I’ll give you a treat after this, OK? Eric says you can’t eat people food.”  
  
“Gomdori seems to like you,” Eric’s dad said, from the doorway. Hyesung was glad he had put the knife down—or else he would have sliced off a finger in surprise.  
  
“Ah, yes. I brought him treats, so that might have something to do with it,” Hyesung explained. Gomdori barked happily at his feet, nipping at the bottom of his jeans lightly.  
  
“Do you need any help with the fruit?” Eric’s dad asked, joining Hyesung near the sink, where he had been rinsing everything.  
  
“That’s OK. I’m almost finished. You should rest. Eric said you arrived late last night,” Hyesung said, picking up the knife again.  
  
“I slept in until noon. If I rest anymore, I might as well have one foot in the grave,” Eric’s dad said, smiling. “If you don’t need help, then, do you mind if I talk to you for a bit? There’s something I didn’t want to say in front of Eric and his mother.”  
  
“No, of course not,” Hyesung replied, feeling just as nervous as he had before Eric’s parents had walked in the door. Eric’s father had hardly said a word through dinner—mostly letting his wife and Hyesung do all of the talking, and Hyesung wasn’t sure quite how to read him yet.  
  
“Did you know that you’re the first man Eric has ever introduced to us?” Eric’s father asked, sitting down at the table, and picking Gomdori up in his arms.  
  
“No. I…didn’t know that,” Hyesung said.  
  
“My wife and I were both very surprised to see you—especially since he hadn’t mentioned he was seeing anyone.”  
  
“I’m sorry. I think that’s probably my fault. He didn’t know if I would be comfortable with him telling you about us, so…” Hyesung said, drying his hands on a towel beside the sink, nervously, and looking down at the completed fruit—not knowing whether to tell Eric’s father it was finished or not.  
  
“Don’t misunderstand, Hyesung. I’m not upset that he didn’t tell us at first. I’m just very surprised that he told us at all. Eric has always been very close with his mother. Anything that happened to him, when he was living at home, he’d run straight there to tell her. Even now, he’s a grown man and living in another country, but he calls her every day—despite the time difference. But he’s never once introduced a man that he’s dated to her,” Eric’s father said, scratching Gomdori’s ears.  
  
Hyesung felt he had no choice but to sit down at the table next to Eric’s father, holding the tray of fruit, while he continued.  
  
“When he told us he was gay, my wife was very upset. It was the only time they’ve ever fought. She loves Eric so much. It took some time to get over the plans and hopes she had for his future, and realize she had to let him live his own life. But when she realized that she risked losing Eric over grandchildren and a daughter-in-law she had imagined on her own, she came around,” Eric’s father continued.  
  
“Could I ask you a question, sir? You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal,” Hyesung said.  
  
“How did I take it when Eric told us?” Eric’s father asked, smiling.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“I was surprised, of course, but not as shocked as my wife. I didn’t know already, but I did know Eric wasn’t interested in dating the way his sister was, so it made sense when I put the pieces together. I think he was more afraid of the way I would react, and it hurt him when his mother didn’t accept it at first. So I gave him my full support, because I didn’t want him to suffer anymore. And I think it was the right thing to do. He must be very nervous tonight, but he seems so happy. It’s good to see him this excited over something—someone.” Eric’s father stood up, dumping Gomdori from his lap, and went to the sink to wash his hands.  
  
Hyesung stood up, too, and grabbed the tray of fruit.  
  
“Should we take this out?” he asked. His throat was scratchy, like he was going to cry. Somehow he felt a lot closer to Eric’s entire family after the short conversation.  
  
“Yes, let’s go,” Eric’s father said, drying his hands. “Oh, but Hyesung. I just wanted to thank you—for being so patient with my wife. Now that she’s gotten over her surprise and shock, she’s very excited to meet you. When Eric brought girls home in high school, she always hated every one of them. But she seems to really like you. I apologize if her questions make you uncomfortable, but I think she’s trying very hard to show Eric that she’s happy for him, too.”  
  
“It’s not a problem at all. I was nervous about meeting you, but you’ve both been so kind,” Hyesung said, holding back to let Eric’s father walk in front of him.  
  
“You’re well spoken, handsome, intelligent—of course we’re kind. We’re afraid Eric will chase you away. He’s my son, but you’re too good for him,” Eric’s father replied, walking into the living room.  
  
“I heard that, Dad!”  
  


* * *

  
It was 11:00 when Eric’s parents left, and Hyesung was exhausted. Meeting them had far exceeded his expectations and, once again, he had seen so many new sides to Eric that he felt like they had grown closer, but he also felt like he had talked more than he had in weeks.  
  
“Do you still want to stay for a glass of wine?” Eric asked, when his parents were safely seen out of the door.  
  
“I’d love to,” Hyesung said, sinking into the couch.  
  
Eric smiled.  
  
A few minutes later, he returned from the kitchen with two wine glasses, and the open bottle. He poured some for each of them, and held a glass out to Hyesung.  
  
“Thank you,” Hyesung said, taking a sip. He didn’t know that much about wine, but it was pretty good. Eric seemed to approve, too.  
  
“Thank you, for giving it to me,” Eric said. “And thank you for being so patient with my parents. They asked you so many questions. I really didn’t expect that.”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Hyesung said. “I actually had a lot of fun tonight. Both of your parents are great. Gomdori is great,” he nodded at the dog, who was curled up at their feet, “and I’m glad I got to meet all of them.”  
  
“How about me?” Eric asked, pouting.  
  
“You’re pretty OK,” Hyesung joked.  
  
Eric wrinkled his nose, but smiled.  
  
“So OK, I was hoping I could see you again soon. Your parents are here, so I know you’ll be busy, but…”  
  
“I can always make time for you, Hyesung,” Eric said, still smiling at him.  
  
Hyesung blushed again, looking down at his wine glass.  
  
“That’s good. Because I don’t want to wait five days to see you again.”  
  
“Are you already drunk? Where is my shy Hyesung?” Eric asked, laughing.  
  
Hyesung turned so red, he had to put his wine glass down and cover his face with both hands. While he was doing that, he heard his phone buzz, and fished it out of his pocket.  
  
 **Junjin:** Where are you? It’s almost midnight.  
  
“Sorry, it’s Junjin,” Hyesung explained.  
  
Eric nodded, and busied himself refilling their glasses.  
  
“Tell him I said ‘hello’,” he said.  
  
 **Hyesung:** Eric’s parents just left.  He asked me to stay for wine. He says hi.  
 **Junjin:** Ahhh. He must want a goodnight kiss or something else. Tell him I say hi. Be safe!  
 **Hyesung:** >:(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I've been busy with school, and will probably be next week, too. I'll try and make up for it when the semester ends in a couple of weeks ^^;;;


	7. After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! School is finally finished for the semester, so I'm hoping to have another chapter up either by the end of the week, or at the beginning of next week. I posted the playlist I listen to when I write this one on 8tracks, too, if anyone is interested: http://8tracks.com/situationnormal/supermarket

“Is Junjin teasing you again?” Eric asked, leaning back on the couch with his newly filled wine glass.  
   
“Ahh…a little,” Hyesung said, shoving his phone in his pocket. He blushed, in spite of himself, at what Junjin had said.  
   
“About your drinking habit?” Eric smiled, innocently, as Hyesung blushed even deeper. “You know, I didn’t ask you to stay because of that.”  
   
“I never thought that you would. It’s just, Jinnie, you know…” Hyesung explained, taking a long gulp from his glass.  
   
“Not that I don’t want to kiss you again,” Eric said, “but I thought it would be nice to talk and relax for a while, instead. I’ve been so nervous.”  
   
Hyesung paused for a few seconds, trying to calm his heart down as it violently reacted to hearing “want to kiss you again” from Eric’s mouth.  
   
When he was able to speak: “You were nervous? You said everything was going to be fine.”  
   
“Yeah, well, you were so scared. What else could I say? How could they not like you, anyway? You’re perfect. But you’re the first—the first person…” Eric said. He paused, frowning a little. “Please don’t be angry. It’s not like I doubted you. I really did know they’d like you. I was just nervous because it was the first time.”  
   
“Of course you were nervous. They’re your parents. And I’m not angry,” Hyesung said, thinking back to his talk with Eric’s father in the kitchen. “I’m just surprised. You seemed so calm.”  
   
“You’re sure you’re not angry?” Eric asked. Hyesung met his eyes, and smiled, shaking his head.  
   
“Why would I be angry with you?” The alcohol was definitely going to his head, but he didn’t mind so much. At least his self-consciousness was fading away.  
   
“Are you tipsy already?” Eric asked. Hyesung smiled, not denying it, and took another small sip from his glass. Eric was watching him closely.  
   
“I really hope you’ll stick around for a long time—long enough to get angry at me a thousand times or more,” he said, after a while. His voice was soft—a half-whisper.  
   
“Why would you want me to be angry with you?” Hyesung asked, moving forward, slightly, to lean his shoulder against Eric’s. They were barely touching, but it felt nice.  
   
“It’s not that I want you to be angry with me, but how can you love someone and never get angry with them? Junjin says you have a temper,” Eric said. He moved his glass to his other hand, freeing the one next to Hyesung’s.  
   
“You want me to love you enough to be comfortable getting angry with you?” Hyesung parroted. The combination of the alcohol and Eric’s arm touching his was making it difficult to process everything.  
   
“Something like that,” Eric said, touching the back of Hyesung’s hand, briefly, as if he were asking permission. Hyesung turned his own hand over, letting Eric hold it in his lap.  
   
“How about you?” Hyesung wasn’t drunk enough not to be slightly embarrassed at the way he wanted to shriek with happiness because Eric was touching his hand so tenderly. He was a grown man, after all.  
   
“What about me?” Eric asked, lacing their fingers.  
   
“Do you…think you’ll get angry with me, too?” Hyesung noticed his glass was empty, and he wanted to refill it, but not if it meant taking his hand out of Eric’s.  
   
“I’m never going to be angry with you,” Eric said.  
   
“But you said—” Hyesung protested.  
   
“I’m pretty annoying once you get to know me, Hyesung. But you’re just cute. It’s different,” Eric explained, squeezing Hyesung’s hand.  
   
“You’re cute, too,” Hyesung whispered, distracted by their entwined fingers, once again. “I want you to like me enough to be angry with me, too.” He knew he was pouting, but he didn’t really care.  
   
“I already…like you a lot. You know that, right? I wouldn’t have introduced you to my parents if I didn’t,” Eric said.  
   
“You do?”  
   
“How many times should I tell you, so you’ll believe me?” Eric smiled again, in disbelief.  
   
“You could…show me,” Hyesung suggested, sticking out his bottom lip. While he was pouting, he might as well do it the right way.  
   
“Shin Hyesung,” Eric said, putting his wine glass down on the coffee table, “I think you really are drunk.”  
   
“A little,” Hyesung agreed. Not enough that his heart wasn’t pounding.  
   
Eric lifted his free hand, and touched Hyesung’s hair, lightly, before caressing his cheek.  
   
“We should talk again soon,” Eric said. “But for now…” Hyesung closed his eyes in anticipation, as Eric moved forward. He was much more nervous than he had been the first time.  
   
And Eric’s lips pressed against his forehead, briefly—mostly kissing his hair.  
   
“For now, I should call you a cab.”

 

* * *

 

On Saturday, Hyesung stayed in all day. Every time he considered going out and running errands, thoughts of Eric would distract him and his fluttering heart would keep him from getting out of bed.

He even ignored Junjin’s texts, after the first handful. As much as he loved his best friend, he didn’t want to share the new, warm feelings he was developing—not yet, anyway. For a while, he needed to keep them to himself.  
   
Eric’s texts, however, he didn’t ignore.  
   
 **Eric:** Did you get home safe?  
 **Hyesung:** Yes. Thanks. Did you sleep well?  
 **Eric:** Not really. I was thinking about you~  
 **Hyesung:** Cheesy  
   
He threw his phone down beside him, covering his face.  
   
 **Eric:** ^^;; Did you?  
 **Hyesung:** Yes  
 **Hyesung:** I slept better, thinking of you  
   
Before he even had time to be embarrassed, Eric’s reply came:  
   
 **Eric:** Wow  
 **Eric:** Cheesier~  
 **Eric:** (I like it. Be cheesy next time, OK?)  
   
Hyesung sighed, holding his hand over his chest. There wouldn’t be a next time if he had a heart attack just from reading a text message.  
   
 **Hyesung:** I think that’s the first and last time. Too embarrassing.  
 **Eric:** =( but you’re cute when you’re embarrassed  
 **Hyesung:** I must be cute a lot, then  
 **Eric:** Yup~  
 **Eric:** What are you doing right now?  
   
Hyesung looked around him, surveying the carnage of his bedroom. He had come home and thrown his clothes in a pile in the floor. Half of his closet was emptied, too, from his attempts to find an outfit that would be appropriate for meeting his sort-of-boyfriend’s parents.  
   
His laptop was beside him, showing the loading screen of the game he had been playing before he’d gotten distracted by Eric’s texts.  
   
He knew, as an adult, he should probably say something other than playing video games in bed, but…  
   
 **Hyesung:** Playing video games in bed. You?  
 **Eric:** You really are the perfect man. But do you have some free time?  
 **Eric:** Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to leave your game.  
 **Hyesung:** Of course. Even if you are asking me to leave my game.  
 **Eric:** My mom has taken over my apartment to see her friends, and my dad is out with his. Do you think Gomdori and I could come over for a couple of hours and play?  
   
Hyesung surveyed his room again. It was a disaster. He was a disaster. He needed a shower. The thought of Eric showing up, and seeing such a huge mess, was horrifying.  
   
 **Hyesung:** I’d love that  
   
He definitely had it bad.

 

* * *

 

 

Eric showed up less than an hour later, with a computer bag over his shoulder, and a bag in his hand. When Hyesung opened the door, Gomdori was in the process of wrapping his leash so tightly around Eric’s legs that he couldn’t take a step.

“Please help,” Eric said—skipping the usual greetings in a time of emergency.  
   
Hyesung laughed, and took the leash from his hand. He carefully untangled it, trying not to let his hands linger too long on Eric’s legs, which he noticed, again, were very, very long. When it was unwound, he scooped Gomdori up in his arms.  
   
“You shouldn’t tease your daddy, Gomdori,” Hyesung scolded, stroking the puppy’s soft fur. “And you shouldn’t make it so easy,” he continued, turning to Eric and sticking his tongue out.  
   
“See, Gomdori, now I’m being scolded because of you,” Eric said, frowning.  
   
“It’s not Gomdori’s fault,” Hyesung crooned. “He’s just a baby.”

He turned, smiling, to enter his passcode as Eric continued to pout.

“I’m sorry about the mess, Gomdori. I told your dad, but he said it was OK. I’m really not this messy, usually.”  
   
“Gomdori  _is_  a little bit of a neat freak,” Eric teased, “but maybe he can look past it since you gave him treats yesterday. I can’t believe you bribed my dog.”  
   
“It’s not bribery. I gave him the treats because I like him,” Hyesung said, finally swinging the door open.  
   
“You’re making me jealous,” Eric whined, following him into the apartment.  
   
In the time since he had invited Eric over, Hyesung had taken the quickest shower of his life, and shoved all of his clothes under his bed. It was all he had time for. Normally, his apartment looked more like a model home than a place someone actually lived, but lately, with his hectic schedule, and with thoughts of Eric clouding his head…  
   
“Is this the mess you told me about?” Eric asked, as they entered the living room. Admittedly, nothing was out of place, but that didn’t keep Hyesung from knowing how long it had been since he’d last vacuumed or dusted.  
   
“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t have much time to clean up. Usually it’s not so messy,” Hyesung explained. He put Gomdori down on one end of the couch, where he had already laid out a blanket and pillow for him. The puppy immediately jumped down, running around to inspect the rest of Hyesung's furniture.  
   
“Wow. And I thought you were _actually_ messy,” Eric said, as Hyesung turned to look at him again.  
   
“You thought I would be messy?” Hyesung asked. He didn’t like the sound of that.  
   
“Don’t get mad, but, well, your car,” Eric said.  
   
Hyesung blushed. His car really didn’t give the best impression of his cleanliness.  
   
"Just my car is like that."  
   
“I can see,” Eric said. “If this is supposed to be messy…” He shifted, moving his bags to the other arm.  
   
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Hyesung said—temporarily forgetting his embarrassment, and taking the bags from Eric to put them down on the coffee table. “Do you want to sit down? I can get you something to drink, too.”  
   
“Actually, Hyesung, do you think you could do me a favor?” Eric asked. He moved forward, suddenly. They were almost touching. Eric’s hand was hovering near his elbow, and Hyesung trembled in anticipation.  
   
“Of course. What do you need?” Hyesung could feel his cheeks burning, still. The way Eric was looking at him—intently, almost hungrily—was giving him goosebumps.  
   
“Can you make me some ramen? I’m starving.”  
   
‘Ya, Shin Hyesung, you pervert,’ Hyesung scolded himself. ‘What did you think he wanted? Pull yourself together. You’re going to turn into Junjin.’

 

* * *

 

A half hour later, with the ramen Eric had brought already finished off, and Gomdori sleeping between them, the gaming began. They were both wearing black track suits—almost like couple outfits, except Hyesung’s was Nike and Eric’s was Adidas—and the thought made Hyesung weirdly cheerful. And despite the weird, sudden urges to wipe ramen broth off of Eric’s sweatshirt, or feel how soft Eric’s hair was compared to Gomdori’s fur, Hyesung felt more comfortable and satisfied than he had in weeks.

So comfortable, he was yawning.  He knew it was rude, but he couldn’t help it. His eyelids were heavy, and the couch and the track suit were too cozy—especially with Gomdori’s head in his lap, almost on top of his keyboard. He put the laptop down on the coffee table, considering trying to find the espresso beans he had hidden from Junjin last time, and scratched behind Gomdori’s ears, absently.

“Are you sleepy?” Eric asked. His long legs were stretched out, with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

“A little,” Hyesung admitted. “Not that you’re boring, it’s just that eating ramen when it’s cold out…”

“Want to take a nap?” Eric asked, moving his feet and putting his own laptop next to Hyesung’s.

“No! I don’t want you to go. You just got here,” Hyesung protested. His voice was so loud that Gomdori jumped up, startled, and moved to Eric’s lap.

“I want to nap, too,” Eric said, patting his leg. “You could rest your head here.”

Hyesung glanced, for a few seconds, at Eric’s leg.

And then, he decided—oh, whatever. What could it hurt?  
 


	8. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I updated this one. Being home has been busier than being at school, somehow.

At first, Hyesung was so comfortable that the clicking noise didn’t faze him. But the longer it went on, the more annoyed he became, until the comfortable, sleepy feeling had completely evaporated.  
  
“Ya! Park Junjin!” He didn’t know for sure it was Junjin, but it was a pretty safe bet. Anything that woke him up in a bad mood was usually Junjin’s fault.  
  
“Sorry, hyung! Just taking some pictures. Did I wake you?” Junjin said. Hyesung squinted, trying to focus on his annoying friend.  
  
“What are you taking pictures of? Me sleeping? Weirdo. I swear, if you post those anywhere—”  
  
“Shhh. Hyung! You’ll wake him,” Junjin said, slapping one hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, and taking another picture with his cell phone simultaneously.  
  
“Wake who?” Hyesung asked. He lifted his head, scowling at Jinnie.  
  
“Wait until I tell Andy I caught you two sleeping together,” Junjin replied, ignoring the question.  
  
“What are you—oh. Oh god.” Hyesung looked down. The pillow he had been resting his head on wasn’t a pillow at all. It was a lap.  
  
“You two must have been tired. You didn’t even put your ramen bowls away,” Junjin teased. “I thought you said you came home alone last night, too. But I guess now that he has a boyfriend, hyung keeps secrets from me.”  
  
“Delete those pictures. Now,” Hyesung hissed, trying to gently get up from the couch without waking Eric, so he could strangle Junjin and smash his phone into pieces.  
  
“They’re cute. Don’t worry. Eric hyung has his mouth open, but, still,” Junjin said, shoving his phone into the front of his pants—where Hyesung wouldn’t dare to reach.  
  
Hyesung, giving up on the phone, turned to look at Eric. His mouth was still hanging open, slightly, but Junjin was right. It was still cute. Handsome, even. He wanted to focus on his rage so he could get the phone and delete those pictures, but looking at Eric for even half a second made butterflies fill his stomach, and it was starting to feel less and less important. In fact, he kind of wanted to look at the pictures. Just to see if they were really all that cute.  
  
All of the commotion seemed to be making Gomdori nervous, and he wanted to be in Eric’s lap. He pawed at his Eric’s leg, lightly, and whined.  
  
“Shhh, Gomdori. I’m pretending to sleep,” Eric said, smiling slightly.

 

* * *

 

“So, what were you doing in my apartment taking stalker pictures?” Hyesung asked, handing Junjin a cup of tea. He still couldn’t look Eric, who was sipping his own tea and cuddling with Gomdori, in the eye without blushing.  
  
“I didn’t come to take pictures. The opportunity sort of fell in my lap,” Junjin said, smiling, and raising his eyebrows at Eric, who laughed.  
  
“Shut up,” Hyesung hissed.  
  
“Sorry. I’m sorry!” Junjin put his cup down on the table, and raised his arms in the air, immediately, in self-reflection. “I actually came to ask for some advice about Andy.”  
  
“It’s too early to ask him to move in with you, Jinnie. We talk about this ten times a week,” Hyesung said, taking a careful sip of his own tea, and frowning over the rim of the cup.  
  
“Not that! This time it’s something different. The renovations for his office building aren’t going to be done in time for his New Year’s party. So he needs to find somewhere else where everyone can go. But he has a budget. And with the catering costs it’s going to be expensive. And my apartment is too small. And I don’t know what to do,” Junjin said. He lowered his arms, and stuck out his bottom lip.  
  
“Shouldn’t he be the one worrying about this? Not you,” Hyesung said, frowning again.  
  
“Yeah, but he has a lot to worry about. I wanted to take care of this for him,” Junjin said, still pouting.  
  
“Well, I definitely can’t help. The only places I go are here and the office,” Hyesung said.  
  
“Maybe I could,” Eric said. He had been so quiet, Hyesung had almost forgotten he was there—even though they were sitting almost close enough to brush elbows on the couch.  
  
“You know somewhere?” Junjin asked, brightening up again.  
  
“I’m not sure. But I have a friend who owns a restaurant. He might be able to help you out. It’s not big—he can only seat around a hundred people—but…” Eric shrugged.  
  
“That sounds perfect! Can you call him right now? If I solve this problem for Andy, he might really move in with me,” Junjin said, putting his cup down so suddenly it splashed all over the coffee table. Hyesung winced. It was lucky he had moved their laptops before sitting down.  
  
“Yeah. Sure,” Eric said, taking out his phone.  
  
Gomdori abandoned his lap, immediately, and curled up on Hyesung, trying to lick the tea from around his mouth.  
  
“Minwoo. Yeah. I was wondering if you could rent out the restaurant one night for a friend of mine…” 

 

* * *

“I wish I could say I’d heard a lot about you, Hyesung, but Eric won’t say anything at all about you. I was starting to think you were made up. Or a fugitive,” Minwoo said, inspecting the other man carefully.  
  
“Ah, there’s not much to say about me. I’m pretty boring,” Hyesung said. He looked at the floor, nervously. Honestly, Eric had never mentioned Minwoo, either, until they started helping Junjin plan Andy’s holiday party together.

  
Meeting him in person, then, shouldn’t have come as a shock. It’s not like Eric said he was tall, or anything. But even with no preconceived notions, Minwoo was surprisingly small. And strangely intimidating for someone who barely met Hyesung’s shoulders.  
  
Hyesung had imagined Eric’s friends to be as warm and friendly as he was—maybe a little less weird. Instead, he had spent the last couple of minutes trapped in the restaurant alone with Minwoo, being questioned and closely inspected. That’s what he got for being early.  
  
“I doubt that’s true.” When Hyesung looked up, Minwoo was grinning at him. His smile changed his entire face into something much friendlier. “Eric is just jealous of people he likes. He wants to keep you to himself.”  
  
Hyesung blushed, and nodded—not knowing how to respond. The party would be starting in a couple of hours, and he had offered to go early and help set up. Since the restaurant was closed for the holidays, only Eric, Minwoo, and another employee, Dongwan, would be working, and Hyesung thought they might need the help.  
  
But Eric was late. As per usual. In fact, if Minwoo didn’t live above his restaurant, Hyesung would probably be the only one there on time. It seemed Eric’s friends were as perpetually tardy as he was.  
  
“Looks like Dongwan is here,” Minwoo said, breaking into Hyesung’s thoughts. “I’ll go ahead and apologize for anything he says. If he offends you, let me know, and I’ll talk to him. But try not to tell Eric. We don’t want a fist fight to ruin the party.”  
  
Minwoo was smiling, like it was a joke, but Hyesung thought he seemed a little serious about it. He gulped.  
  
“Working on New Year’s Eve! Again! You promised me we’d close the place this year, so we could actually enjoy—” Dongwan started speaking as soon as he walked in the door, but stopped, abruptly, when he saw Hyesung.  
  
“This is Eric’s mysterious boyfriend, Shin Hyesung. And this is my loud, annoying boyfriend Kim Dongwan,” Minwoo said, still smiling.  
  
“Nice to meet you,” Hyesung said, politely nodding.  
  
“Nice to meet you,” Dongwan echoed, smiling in a way that doubled Hyesung’s nervousness.  
  
“Don’t look at him like that, Dongwan,” Minwoo said, frowning. “And please stop talking. We’ve talked about this already. It’s business. And all you have to do is keep music playing and look good, which shouldn’t be any trouble for you.”  
  
“I know, but Minwoo…” Dongwan whined.  
  
“The food is taken care of already, and Eric is serving it. You’ll have fun. I promise,” Minwoo said. He reached out and tickled Dongwan’s ribs gently with his fingertips, grinning.  
  
“Fine. But you owe me,” Dongwan said, with a smile so big it matched Minwoo’s. He backed away from the other man’s touch, almost shyly.  
  
Hyesung cleared his throat.  
  
“Should we start getting everything set up, then? Eric must have kept his class late today so he wouldn’t have to help us take these tables out,” Minwoo complained, placing his hand indiscreetly on the small of Dongwan’s back.  
  
“Could you two not do that in front of him, please? You’re making him uncomfortable,” Eric said. Hyesung had been so busy looking at his feet and blushing, he hadn’t even noticed him walk up behind Minwoo and Dongwan.  
  
“You’re late,” Minwoo said. His intimidating exterior had fallen away completely, and he was full on pouting—bottom lip sticking out and everything. Hyesung knew the feeling. Seeing Eric had changed the feeling in the room for him, too—everything seemed brighter.  
  
They hadn’t been able to see each other in a few days—Eric’s parents had been there through Christmas, and then he had been teaching study sessions during the evenings to prepare his students for some sort of admission’s test, so there hadn’t been time. Even though they had been texting regularly, seeing him was an entirely different experience, and Hyesung’s knees felt weak. He was glad he was sitting.  
  
“I’m always late,” Eric said, smiling at Hyesung, as he sat down next to him at the table.  
  
“Hi,” Hyesung said, softly, as Eric’s hand found his.  
  
“Hi,” Eric said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.  
  
“And you said  _we_  were making him uncomfortable. Look at him blush.” Minwoo wrinkled his nose, but he was smiling again  
  
“He’s cute,” Dongwan said.  
  
“Shut up, Dongwan,” Eric and Minwoo chorused, immediately.

 

* * *

 

Hyesung had been to Andy’s company Christmas parties every year since his father had started letting him throw them, and every year they got bigger. With Dongwan taking care of the music, and Minwoo bartending, poor Eric was stuck with refilling the buffet, cleaning up messes, and helping guests find the bathroom. And there were a lot of guests.  
  
A lot of guests who were interested in the attractive waiter.  
  
Hyesung scowled, taking a sip of his drink, as he watched a woman touch Eric’s sleeve, asking him where the bathroom was.  
  
“Take it easy on that wine glass, hyung. If you squeeze it any tighter it’s going to shatter,” Junjin said, obviously trying to stifle a smile.  
  
“He’s a jerk,” Hyesung said.  
  
“He’s just doing his job.” Junjin couldn’t even begin to stifle his smile anymore—his eyebrows were almost in his hairline.  
  
“Is flirting with women his job? He has to let them touch him?” Hyesung asked, taking another long sip of his drink.  
  
“Not just women. I’ve seen men flirt with him tonight, too, hyung,” Junjin said, openly laughing.  
  
“Don’t listen to him. Jinnie just likes to get you worked up,” Andy said, appearing behind his boyfriend, scowling.  
  
“Can’t you call me hyung for once?” Junjin asked, smile immediately turning into a pout.  
  
“You should act like a hyung, first,” Andy said. “Why don’t you tell him, if you’re annoyed. I’m sure he’s only putting up with it for the sake of the party.”  
  
“I’m not talking to him,” Hyesung said, draining his glass.  
  
“Suit yourself,” Andy said, shrugging. He didn’t spare Hyesung or Junjin a second glance before turning and walking away.  
  
“Aw, hyung. You shouldn’t be upset with him and not tell him why. Just go talk to him,” Junjin said, still frowning at his boyfriend’s turned back.  
  
“No.” Hyesung looked around for a wine bottle—not wanting to go ask Minwoo for a refill.  
  
“Why not?” Junjin asked, passing him his own drink.  
  
“It’s…embarrassing,” Hyesung admitted. He drained the glass in one shot.  
  
“It’s not embarrassing to have feelings for someone, hyung,” Junjin said. “It’s OK to be jealous. Just tell him how you feel.”  
  
“I don’t want him to think I’m jealous,” Hyesung said, staring into his empty glass. His cheeks were already burning.  
  
“But you  _are_  jealous,” Junjin said, sighing. He looked around again for a few seconds, apparently trying to find Andy again in the crowd.  
  
“I don’t want to embarrass him. Jerk,” Hyesung repeated. He pushed his chair back. He would have to face Minwoo at the bar if he was going to make it through the party without testing out his rusty taekwondo skills.

 

* * *

“Is Andy flirting with that woman?” Junjin asked. He had been keeping up with Hyesung drink for drink, but it seemed like he wasn’t very drunk. Then again—Hyesung had never seen Junjin drunk.  
  
“No,” Hyesung said, shaking his head. Truthfully, he hadn’t taken his eyes off of Eric in several minutes. He had no idea which woman Junjin was even talking about. Eric was walking closer, and Hyesung took another long gulp of his drink.  
  
“I’m going to talk to him,” Junjin said, putting his glass down on the table.  
  
“Where’s he going?” Eric asked, reaching the table just as Junjin walked away. He smiled at Hyesung, cheerfully.  
  
“Dunno,” Hyesung said, frowning.  
  
“He didn’t seem very happy. Are you enjoying the party?” Eric asked, leaning against Hyesung’s table.  
  
“It’s OK,” Hyesung said. He took another sip of his drink, and looked at the table in front of him—ignoring Eric all together.  
  
“Have you been dancing? A piece of your hair is out of place.” Eric reached toward him, stretching out his fingers.  
  
“Don’t touch me,” Hyesung said, quickly, pulling away.  
  
“I won’t. I’m sorry. You sure you’re OK, though?” Eric asked. He tilted his head to the side in that way that made Hyesung’s heart beat really fast, looking concerned. And very sweet. It was almost unbelievable that he was such a huge, cheating jerk.  
  
“I better go check on Jinnie,” Hyesung said.  
  
“All right. I’ll see you later. Check in with me, if you have a minute. It’s boring without you,” Eric said.  
  
“Didn’t seem like it,” Hyesung spat, on the alcohol’s behalf. He didn’t wait long enough to see if Eric would react.  


* * *

 

“You were flirting with her, Andy. I saw you pour her a drink.” Hyesung could hear Junjin’s voice over the music as he approached the hallway. Junjin had Andy backed up against the wall outside of the men’s restroom.  
  
“Is this what you pulled me aside for, Junjin? I don’t have time for this,” Andy said, stepping around him.  
  
Junjin moved to block his path.  
  
“Can’t you just apologize for once?” he asked, throwing his arm out.  
  
“Apologize for what?” Andy scowled, taking a step back.  
  
“For flirting. In front of your boyfriend. You’ve hardly spoken to me all night,” Junjin said.  
  
“You’re being childish. Come talk to me when you can act like an adult,” Andy said, pushing past him, and ducking into the bathroom.  
  
“You can come over here, hyung. I can see you creeping around in the shadows.” Junjin looked up, smiling in Hyesung’s general direction.  
  
“I was just…about to go to the bathroom.” Hyesung stepped forward, a little wobbly.  
  
“You were just checking on me because you’re in mom mode, as per usual.”  
  
Hyesung smiled. Seeing Junjin upset always made him feel a little…maternal, for lack of a better word. He didn’t like seeing him hurt. At all. Or even vaguely disappointed. And the sad little smile he was looking at him with made Hyesung wanted to march into bathroom and tell Andy off himself.  
  
“Maybe a little. You OK?” he asked, patting Jinnie’s arm.  
  
“Yes, mom. I’m fine.” Junjin wrinkled his nose. “But don’t say anything to Andy. I’ll seem even more ‘childish’ if my hyung fights my battles for me.”  
  
“I won’t say anything,” Hyesung agreed, petting Jinnie’s hair. “But if you change your mind, let mommy know.”  
  
“I guess you aren’t going to say anything to Eric-hyung, either?” Junjin asked. “He’s not as prickly as Andy is, you know.”  
  
“No. No offense, Jinnie, but Andy might be right. It might be a little…childish,” Hyesung said, pulling Junjin out to a table again. Not sitting down was a little difficult on such wobbly legs.  
  
“I guess I got my childish jealousy from you,” Junjin complained. “But you get another chance to teach me how to do better. Here he comes.”  
  
Hyesung had seen Eric moving closer, too. He tried not to look at him walking across the room, but it was impossible not to notice someone so handsome. He almost didn’t blame all of the drooling party guests for wanting to be all over him. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the sudden onslaught of…impure…thoughts. He felt like his body was entirely liquid—shaking his head was a terrible idea.  
  
“I’m off. We’re finally out of food. Thank god,” Eric said, taking a seat next to Hyesung.  
  
“Yes. You’ve worked really hard tonight, hyung. I should have helped you out. Since you were doing this as a favor,” Junjin said.  
  
“No. It was fine. You should enjoy your boyfriend’s party,” Eric said, smiling. “Where is Andy, anyway?”  
  
“I don’t know. I think I should go find him,” Junjin responded, standing up.  
  
“Jinnie…”  
  
“It’s fine, hyung. You two enjoy the rest of the party. I think it should be wrapping up soon,” Junjin said, nodding at Eric and Hyesung in turn.  
  
Hyesung glanced at Eric. He had his sleeves rolled up, and it looked like he had spilled something on his shirt. His hair was a mess, too. Probably from walking outside to get bags of ice all night, when it was so windy. He looked sloppy, but adorable. And exhausted.  
  
“Are you angry at me? You’ve avoided me all night,” Eric said, after a few seconds.  
  
“No.” Hyesung smiled, without meaning to, at the way Eric chewed his bottom lip with worry. He was cute when he was concerned.  
  
“Are you sure? You seemed upset earlier, too.” Eric glanced down at his watch.  
  
“Nothing’s wrong,” Hyesung said, shaking his head.  
  
“You’re positive?” Eric asked, still not looking away from his watch.  
  
“I’m sure.” It must have been difficult for other people not to talk to and touch Eric all night. But the watch thing was sort of annoying. Hyesung wanted Eric to look at him—to reassure him a little—that he was still the guy he wanted.  
  
“Good,” Eric said, still staring at the watch. “Three. Two. One.”  
  
He leaned forward, kissing Hyesung softly, and suddenly.  
  
“Happy New Year,” Eric whispered, pulling away.  
  
“That’s a pretty weak kiss, after making me jealous all night,” Hyesung said, stopping Eric from pulling away any further with one hand in his hair.  
  
“So something was wrong,” Eric replied, smiling. He kissed Hyesung again, leaning against his hand.  
  
“It’s OK now.” Hyesung was blushing, but he didn’t care. “Happy New Year.”  
  
“Maybe that’s why you were so cute all night. You were jealous,” Eric said, kissing Hyesung’s cheek.  
  
“All night?” Hyesung asked, sighing, as Eric’s mouth met his jaw line.  
  
“I followed you around a grocery store for a month. You think I can look away from you when we’re in the same room all night?”  


* * *

 

“Which set is grosser? Your friends or my friends?” Eric asked, glancing into the rearview mirror. Hyesung leaned around the seat to look. Andy and Junjin had made up, and Andy was apologizing profusely, with what looked like his tongue in Jinnie’s ear. On the other hand, Dongwan was in Minwoo’s lap, and they were giggling like teenagers—not very safe for driving.  
  
“My friends, probably,” Hyesung admitted. The tongue thing made him shudder. And not in a good way.  
  
“But mine aren’t even drunk.” Eric sighed.  
  
“Let’s be grateful for small favors.” Honestly, Hyesung was much more interested in looking at Eric. Much less gross, but there were maybe other reasons, too.  
  
“You know, Hyesung-ie, I’m really happy tonight,” Eric said, grabbing Hyesung’s hand. He had that sweet, childlike grin on his face again, and Hyesung’s heart was pounding. He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or if it was because…no. It was definitely because he was in love.  
  
“Why are you happy?” he asked, smiling. Maybe he was the grossest person in the car. He wanted to scream from how happy he was. Or shake someone. Or, maybe, kiss every inch of Eric’s body. He started blushing at the thought.  
  
“Because we had our first fight.” Eric squeezed his hand.  
  
“You’re so weird,” Dongwan said, from the backseat.  
  
“Shut up, Dongwan,” Eric, Minwoo, and Hyesung chorused at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was the last one I had plans for, for this story, so if anyone has suggestions for the next one, let me know!


	9. Dinner Party

**Eric:** Hyesung-ie~  
**Eric:** If you’re not busy tonight, want to eat dinner with me?  
**Eric:** Minwoo gave me a gift certificate to his restaurant for Christmas, and now that I’m reading the fine print, I see it actually has an expiration date. Cheap bastard.

Hyesung laughed, reading over the messages. He had bet Junjin that he could spend the entire day without his phone, and the anticipation had been more distracting than reading and sending messages ever was.

 **Hyesung:** Just seeing your messages. I’d love to go, if you haven’t found someone to replace me already.  
**Eric:** Who could replace you?  
**Eric:** Pick you up at 7?  
**Hyesung:** Cheesy~ And how will you pick me up without a car? I’ll pick you up at 7:30.  
**Eric:** You have a point. See you then! Glad you’re not still too jealous to make it.

Hyesung grinned, shoving his phone in his pocket. He would whine to Eric later about the jealous comment. He seemed to have taken great pleasure in Hyesung being upset with him, and kept bringing it up—which Hyesung, in spite of himself, thought was adorable—and extremely embarrassing.

“What did he say? He hit the lottery?” Junjin asked. He had been perched on the edge of Hyesung’s desk, watching him disapprovingly as he read Eric's messages. Losing bets always soured his mood. 

“What? No. Why would you think that?” Hyesung asked.

“You smiled so much texting him back. The only thing I can imagine you that happy about is money, and how you’re planning to spend it,” Junjin said, sticking his tongue out, childishly.

“Ya. Park Junjin. Are you jealous because your mommy is dating?” Hyesung asked, trying to hide his burning face by acting annoyed.

“No. I’m seriously happy for you, hyung,” Junjin said, jumping up from the desk and throwing his arms around Hyesung’s shoulders.

“Get off of me. You’re so embarrassing,” Hyesung said. He patted Jinnie's hair affectionately, nevertheless.

“I know,” Junjin said, letting go, and walking toward the elevator. “But you know you were supposed to hang out with me tonight and work on this thing for work, right? If you’re going to dinner with Eric hyung you better bring me back something delicious.”

“Oh. Right. I forgot,” Hyesung said, following Junjin and frowning very seriously as he dug his phone out of his pocket. “I guess I’ll have to tell Eric I can’t make it.”

“No! You should definitely go,” Junjin said, grabbing the phone. “You need a date night. And I can finish this stuff on my own.”

“You were planning on canceling on me, anyway, weren’t you? To see Andy?” Hyesung asked, suspiciously, snatching his phone back.

“Hyung is always doubting me. Always thinking the worst of me,” Junjin pouted.

“Jinnie…”

“All right. Yes. Ever since the party, Andy has been so…needy. All he wants to do is—”

“Please stop. Please get me off of this elevator. I don’t want to hear this,” Hyesung said, desperately sprinting through the opening doors.

“Have fun tonight! Don’t worry about bringing food back. Andy and I will probably be busy! Call you tomorrow!” Junjin yelled behind him.

 

* * *

 

Hyesung looked in the mirror, and smoothed his hair, pressing it down on his forehead. He knew he shouldn’t be nervous to have dinner with Eric—it wasn’t a new experience, after all—but he still wanted to look good. Really good. Good enough that Eric’s coworkers at the restaurant wouldn’t wonder what Eric was doing with someone so far below his own level.

He glanced at his reflection one last time, and smiled. There was no one on the planet who would look good next to Eric, but all things considered, Hyesung thought his own looks weren’t a disgrace. His hair was cooperating, his skin was clear, and he looked happy. Not bad at all.

And Eric’s face when he opened the door made him feel even better.

“Look at you, Hyesung-ie. You’re gorgeous,” Eric said, closing the door behind him with a loud bang that echoed through the hallway. Hyesung could hear Gomdori barking inside—upset to be left behind.

“Thank you. You, too,” Hyesung said. He was barely able to get the words out. Eric’s smile was so beautiful, and the grey sweater he was wearing was so formfitting, that Hyesung was reduced to a blushing mess at first sight.

Eric smiled, and put his hand on Hyesung’s cheek, patting it gently.

“I don’t want dinner, anymore. I just want to look at you,” he said, voice so soft and tempting that Hyesung wanted to throw his arms around him and push him back into his apartment immediately.

“Well, I’m hungry,” he somehow found the strength to say, pulling away from Eric in spite of the entirety of his body telling him not to. “So stop it, you loach, and let’s eat.”

“Loach? How am I a loach?” Eric asked, trailing behind Hyesung as he half-sprinted toward the elevator.

Hyesung grinned, and he could hear Eric laughing behind him.

 

* * *

 

“Eric! What are you doing? I thought you had tonight off,” Dongwan said, greeting them at the door.

“I’m here to use the gift certificate that cheap bastard you call your boyfriend gave me for Christmas. It even has an expiration date. Did you know that?” Eric asked, frowning at Dongwan like it was somehow his fault.

“Good idea, right? Most of the employees forgot to use theirs. Saves Minwoo money. Oh, Hyesung! I didn’t see you there. Eric’s shoulders are so broad it’s hard to see past him,” Dongwan said, pushing Eric out of the way to shake Hyesung’s hand.

“Nice to see you again,” Hyesung said, nodding.

“So you’re here on a date? I’ll seat you somewhere romantic,” Dongwan said, grabbing a couple of menus and walking away so quickly it was hard to keep up—even with the advantage of long legs.

He led them to a four-top next to the window, looking out on the parking lot, and put the menus down, grinning.

“Is this supposed to be romantic?” Eric asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Your server will be with you in just a moment, sir,” Dongwan said, scurrying off.

Eric raised his fist at Dongwan’s retreating back.

“So annoying,” he said, motioning to Hyesung to sit down first, and letting his expression quickly turn into a smile again. “I think he was trying to annoy me—”

“Trying?” Hyesung asked, smiling back.

“Yes, trying,” Eric said, sticking his tongue out. “But, as I was going to say, you look really good in the lighting over here, so it’s pretty romantic after all.”

Hyesung covered his blushing face with the menu. By the time he’d gotten to the second page, Minwoo was at the table, with Dongwan following closely behind him.

“Here to cash in your gift certificate?” Minwoo asked, cheerfully.

Eric just frowned.

“Well, since the restaurant isn’t really busy tonight, Dongwan and I are going to join you for dinner,” Minwoo continued, as if Eric had responded. “You don’t mind, do you, Hyesung?”

“Not at all,” Hyesung said, turning to smile at Eric, who looked horrified.

“Shouldn’t you be running the cash register or something? Or plating food?” Eric asked, as Dongwan threw himself down beside Hyesung, and Minwoo took the seat next to Eric.

“Don’t worry. It’s covered. And it’s not every night the owner eats dinner with you. You should look more excited,” Minwoo said. The contrast between the huge grin on his face, and the look of dismay on Eric’s was so huge that Hyesung couldn’t stop himself from smiling, too.

“By the way, Eric, is Hyesung the guy who you followed around in the grocery store? The one I said I wanted to—”

“Shut up, Dongwan,” Eric said, throwing his silverware at his friend’s chest. “Or do you really want Minwoo to know what you—”

“I’m shutting up,” Dongwan said, grinning. Minwoo glared at him across the table.

“Should we…order?” Hyesung asked, hoping the interruption would stop Eric from killing his friends before the first course.

“Well, as the owner, I recommend…” Minwoo began, picking up the menu.

 

* * *

 

Even when he was annoyed, Eric was handsome. That was becoming more and more apparent the longer his friends talked. The third time Dongwan made a joke about Eric choosing Hyesung like a particularly ripe apple in the produce section, Hyesung didn’t even blush—he was too focused on watching the way Eric’s nostrils flared, and the way his jaw tightened into a sharp line.

He wasn’t even sure what he was eating, anymore, because he was too distracted by how handsome the man sitting across from him was.

That is, until he heard an all-too-familiar voice.

“Hyesung hyung! Eric hyung! What a coincidence!” Junjin called, from only a couple of feet away. Hyesung swallowed a mouthful of food so suddenly that he choked, and Dongwan pounded on his back eagerly.

“Junjin. Andy. What are you doing here?” Minwoo asked, when Hyesung’s airway was finally clear.

“I was working really hard on the project that hyung left me to finish so irresponsibly, and my Andy decided to take me out for dessert,” Junjin said. Beside him, Andy narrowed his eyes and shook his head, slightly, but didn’t bother to correct him.

“How did you know we would be here?” Hyesung asked, sighing. He didn’t remember telling Junjin where he and Eric were going.

“I had your phone in my desk all day, hyung. I read your texts,” Junjin said, simply.

“Well, enjoy your dessert. Too bad we’re at a four-top so you can’t really join us,” Hyesung said, digging back into his food. He was enjoying Eric’s annoyance too much. It wouldn’t be fun anymore if he was annoyed and embarrassed, too.

“That’s OK. I know the owner. I think we can probably pull up some seats,” Dongwan said, standing up. He patted Junjin and Andy on their shoulders, and hurried off to steal some chairs from a neighboring table.

“It’s good to see you,” Minwoo said, grinning broadly. “Dongwan and I were just telling some interesting stories about Eric. Now that you two are here, we can really help these two get to know each other. You can tell us about Hyesung, and we’ll tell you all about Eric, and by the end of the night they’ll both know everything.”

“They’ll basically be married,” Dongwan said, reappearing behind Junjin and Andy with two chairs.

“Shut up, Dongwan,” Eric said, finally regaining his voice.

Dongwan just smiled at him, happily, and motioned for Eric to slide his chair closer to the window so Andy could sit down.

“If you keep saying that, people will think ‘shut up’ is Dongwan’s surname,” Minwoo said, smiling fondly at his boyfriend. “Sit next to me, Dongwan, and Andy and Junjin can sit by Hyesung. It will be like the bride and groom’s side of the table.”

“What ‘bride and groom’s side’?” Hyesung asked. Everyone ignored the question, as Junjin and Andy squeezed in beside him at the table.

“Why don’t we go around the table and each tell a story about one of our friends?” Dongwan asked, motioning for one of the other staff members to come and take Junjin and Andy’s orders.

“That’s a great idea. Why don’t you start?” Minwoo said, flashing Dongwan a fond smile. Hyesung noticed that Minwoo’s hand was drawing small circles on Dongwan’s neck and shoulders, and his throat tightened uncomfortably at the thought of his own hands on Eric’s neck like that. He was too flustered to even worry about what kinds of embarrassing things Junjin and Andy would say about him.

Everyone waited, patiently, as Andy and Junjin placed their orders. Or, at least, everyone but Hyesung, who waited nervously. He noted that, somehow, Eric looked deathly calm. As if he had already accepted his fate. His eyes were even glazed over. Hyesung frowned. He could barely take his eyes off of Eric, and Eric had the audacity to zone out and think about other things.

“I think it would be better for Minwoo to start, since he’s known Eric longest,” Dongwan suggested.

“There are so many great Eric stories, though. Should I tell them about how Eric got mad at me over underwear?”

“No. That one makes you look bad,” Dongwan said. Noting the look on Minwoo’s face, “I’m on your side, but, still.”

“OK. How about the time my ex gave me a panda plushie and he tore the baby off of the—”

“This is supposed to be about Eric. Not your ex,” Dongwan said, cutting him off. He was pouting in a cutesy way that sent chills of nausea throughout Hyesung’s body.

“How about the time where—”

“How many are you going to tell? Just pick one instead of asking Dongwan,” Eric said, stirring his drink with a straw and glaring at his friend.

Hyesung bit back a smile. He thought Eric seemed pretty unaffected by the whole ordeal, but it was becoming pretty obvious that he was actually pouting like a child. And, unlike Dongwan’s pouting, Eric’s was excruciatingly cute. So cute Hyesung was torn between wanting to hear the embarrassing stories and see him pout more, and wanting to cuddle him until he was smiling again. He felt his own ears turn red at the thought.

Honestly, he was more than a little curious to hear the stories Eric’s friends were going to tell. Hyesung didn’t know much about his boyfriend’s past—only what his parents had said. Eric didn’t like to talk about himself very much, and even though Hyesung thought it shouldn’t matter, he desperately wanted to know more about the other man. More than that—he wanted to know everything about him.

“All right, all right. Someone’s grouchy tonight,” Minwoo said, grinning. Eric lifted his hand in a halfhearted way, and for a second Hyesung thought he might actually hit his friend. Instead, he waggled his fingers under Minwoo’s chin, tickling it the way he would tickle Gomdori’s. And Minwoo didn’t seem to think it was strange at all.

Hyesung, on the other hand, felt strangely jealous at the gesture, and tried to force the feeling back down. If it was anything to be worried about, Eric wouldn’t be doing it right in front of him and Dongwan. And if he got jealous over something small again, Eric would never stop teasing him.

“Well, since this is about getting to know Eric, why don’t I tell you about how he started working here?” Minwoo said.

Hyesung was slightly disappointed at first—he had been expecting something wild—but the look of dismay on Eric’s face seemed to say that the story might be more exciting than it seemed.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Hyesung said, before anyone else could respond.

Eric sighed, audibly, and dumped the crushed ice at the bottom of his glass into his mouth.

“Whatever you want, but I think I need to drink something stronger than a Coke,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to Nikki & Magal for suggestions. If anyone has suggestions for what stories Woodong & Jindy should tell, or what you'd like to see in upcoming chapters, let me know and I'll do what I can! ^^


	10. Dinner Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been an eternity since I last updated! Wish I could blame it all on being busy, but it was mostly just writer's block. Hope some of you stuck around ^^ Thanks to the writer's block, this chapter is kind of poorly written but it's long at least!

“So, should I tell you about how Eric famously got his job here?” Minwoo asked, turning his attention to his rapt audience.  
  
“Please.” Hyesung grinned at Eric across the table, trying to simultaneously ask for forgiveness and stifle his joy at the way his boyfriend was sulkily sipping his soju.  
  
“It was three years ago, and the place had just opened. I had really been wanting to do a  _Coffee Prince_ style with the place. You know, have all of the servers be really handsome?”  
  
“Perv,” Eric whispered into his drink, nearly inaudibly.  
  
“But I wasn’t expecting someone  _that_  handsome. So tall, looking like he’s carved from marble…”  
  
“Hey,” Dongwan interrupted, pushing his bottom lip out.  
  
“I hadn’t met you yet, Dongwan-ah. Anyway, Eric walked in. And he was looking for a job…”

 

* * *

“Are you the owner?” The statue of David was standing in front of Minwoo. An enhanced version. A much less cold and still version. He was tall, chiseled, gorgeous, and wearing the most unfortunate outfit Minwoo had ever seen—but he could work with that.  
  
“Yes. I’m Lee Minwoo. Can I help you?” It took a while to find his voice, but when he finally did, he was relieved to hear his normal tone, instead of the high pitched shriek he was hearing in his head.  
  
“I saw a flyer at my college about the opening, and thought you might be hiring,” the statue said, shifting back and forth nervously, as if he was unsure of himself. Minwoo couldn’t  refrain from sighing—tall, beautiful, and humble.  
  
Unfortunately, the staff was full. But he thought he could make an exception. Maybe put one of the other servers—he wasn’t sure about that Kim Jong Kook guy, anyway—in the kitchen, instead, so the statue of David could be out front.  
  
“We’re always interested in hiring young, talented professionals,” Minwoo said, patting the other man on the shoulder. He practically had to stand on his tip-toes to do it.  
  
“Ah…I don’t know about talented,” the statue confessed, almost shyly.  
  
Not the best job interview etiquette, but for him Minwoo would let anything slide.  
  
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. When can you start?” He didn’t mean to be overeager, but it wasn’t every day that such a perfect specimen fell into his lap.  
  
“Start? Any time. But don’t you want to look at my résumé?” the statue asked.  
  
“No. That’s not necessary. Let me get you a uniform. If you have time now, we can start your training. We open tomorrow, so it can't really wait,” Minwoo said, excitedly, rubbing his hands together in a way that was unsettlingly Machiavellian.  
  
“Oh. OK…my name is Eric, by the way.”

 

* * *

Eric had been working at the restaurant for two weeks before Minwoo realized he was weird. Maybe he would have seen sooner if he hadn’t been distracted by how attractive and sincere the other man was, but as things stood, the other employees started noticing it well before he did.  
  
One of the dishwashers complained that every time Eric went out for a cigarette break, he smoked crouching down, like he was poised to leap at any second. He even said that once, when one of the cooks complained about breathing in the nicotine, he went inside an empty drink cooler to light up.  
  
One of the other servers claimed to have seen him staring blankly at a customer, for an uncomfortably long time, when asked what the specials were—before pointing at the menu insert, just as silently.  
  
Minwoo, himself, had seen Eric cursing at video games on his phone every time the restaurant was slow.  
  
But, he liked him. His weirdness was oddly endearing, and his silences had the strange effect of making Minwoo feel comfortable and heard. In fact, after a couple of weeks, Minwoo’s fascination had faded into a fond, warm feeling for the other man. If Eric wasn’t so hard to read, he would almost have considered him a friend. (Not that he had had time to make friends since the restaurant construction had started.)  
  
But nothing he had seen or heard in the first couple of weeks prepared Minwoo for what he found when he walked into the restaurant on a Monday morning, about a month after the opening, to find Eric waiting for him, sitting at the bar. Minwoo had given him a key so he could open up that day, but it was a surprise to see him sitting there—dressed not in his uniform, but as if he were about to spend an evening at a club.  
  
“Eric? Is everything OK?” Minwoo asked, suddenly nervous. Eric looked very serious, and almost as if—Minwoo was flattered at the thought, but his attraction to Eric had mostly faded—he were ready for a date.  
  
“Ah, Minwoo. Sorry I don’t have my uniform on yet. I’ve actually been wanting to ask you…well, you see, this girl from school asked me on a date tonight. Just karaoke, but…I know you’re my boss, but I was wondering if you’d go with me? My friend Youngbae was supposed to go—she told me to bring someone for her friend—but he got this job at a factory, and I thought, well…we’re…is it OK to say we’re friends?” Eric said. For such a tall man, he looked like a pitiful toddler. Minwoo almost thought he saw tears shining in his eyes.  
  
Speaking of tears, there were definitely some standing in Minwoo’s eyes, too. Friends. Eric considered them friends. Eric was quite likely an alien, but, friends, nonetheless! Unfortunately, the favor Eric was asking was a little complicated.  
  
“I would love to, Eric, but, you see…I’m…gay. So going on a date with girls…” Minwoo said, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Honestly, his sexuality wasn’t something he talked about freely. He had come to terms with it, and most people who knew him well knew, but telling someone for the first time was always nerve-wracking—especially people he wanted to be close to so desperately.  
  
Minwoo watched Eric’s expression nervously, not sure what the other man would say or do. Sometimes people, men especially, took the news very badly. Even one of his closest friends had thrown a punch at him when he first found out.  
  
For the first few seconds, Eric only stared at him blankly, chewing on his bottom lip. His stare was so intense that if Minwoo hadn’t been so self-conscious about his small stature, he might have shrunk under it.  
  
“You’re kidding,” Eric said, after a moment, voice flat and neutral.  
  
Minwoo’s heart sank. Not an unexpected reaction, but he had hoped that he and Eric could really be friends.  
  
“No. I’m not,” Minwoo replied, forcing a small smile to cover up the hurt and disappointment he could feel washing over him.  
  
Eric was quiet for a while longer, nodding, as if were taking a lot of effort to make the news sink in.  
  
“People aren’t usually so forthcoming with that sort of information,” Eric said, after a bit.  
  
“Yeah, I know, but since you said we were friends—I guess I just thought I should be honest…” If he wasn’t careful, Minwoo thought he might actually cry.  
  
“Well, that’s a relief,” Eric said, so quickly it was frightening. Minwoo had gotten so used to his strange employee’s long pauses that the suddenness almost surprised him into falling off of the stool he was perched on.  
  
“A relief?” Minwoo asked, still reeling.  
  
“It’s always hard, telling new people—it usually comes up when they try to send me on blind dates—but you just made it so simple,” Eric chattered, smiling brightly.  
  
“Hold on…what?” Minwoo’s head was spinning. Eric’s demeanor had changed so quickly Minwoo couldn’t comprehend. Was he really not shocked or disappointed?  
  
“Oh, I’m gay, too. That’s why it’s making me nervous about this stupid date tonight. I never know how to tell girls I’m not interested, so I just end up going, and it’s a huge mess. But this should be OK, especially if you go with me—” Eric continued, so cheerfully he almost sounded like another person.  
  
“Wait…you’re…?” Minwoo said, weakly, breaking into the stream of Eric’s words.  
  
“Yeah. You know, I don’t really know anyone else who is. Well, not here, anyway. Until now. So you’ll go, right? Tonight?”  
  
Somehow, without being fully aware of what he was doing, Minwoo found himself nodding in agreement.

 

* * *

For the last month, Minwoo had been scared to leave the restaurant. He always arrived before it opened, and left after it closed. It was his baby, and he wanted to be there for any potential problems. So much so that he had been running on three hours of sleep a night for weeks, and didn’t remember the last time he had a drink or sang karaoke or spoke to someone about something other than the best way to season a steak, or what kind of stemware was most appropriate for sparkling wines.  
  
He knew he was a control freak, but his main concern was that, if he left, his father would stop by. He’d been threatening to do so since the opening, and Minwoo desperately wanted to impress him. Leaving early to go on a double date with Eric made him so nervous, he couldn’t even devote his usual joyful energy to picking out an outfit for the night out.  
  
“Oh, you didn’t have to dress up,” Eric said, when Minwoo returned from the break between the lunch and dinner shifts. “I’m just wearing this.” He pointed to his locker, where he had crumpled up his button up and jeans before changing into his uniform.  
  
“Should I change?” Minwoo asked, glancing down at himself. Maybe the pocket square was a little too much, but Eric had looked like he was dressed very nicely that morning, and he wanted to measure up.  
  
“No,” Eric said, reaching out to grab Minwoo’s ear and tweak it, before turning to his locker to change. “Your ears are like dumplings,” he said, matter-of-factly, as he pulled on his jeans.  
  
Minwoo grinned, in spite of himself.  
  
“Hurry, or we’re going to be late.” It wasn’t even his classmate, and he was taking the whole thing much more seriously than Eric seemed to be.  
  
“That’s OK. I’m sure she doesn’t expect me to be on time,” Eric replied, slipping his feet into his shoes. It had taken him all of thirty seconds to go from his serving uniform to his usual casual, effortless look.  
  
Minwoo wondered how he usually dressed at home—probably sweatpants every day, judging by the way he crumpled everything into a ball when he took it off.  
  
“Ready?”

 

* * *

Eric didn’t have a car, so they took Minwoo’s. The place they were meeting wasn’t far, but Minwoo’s shoes weren’t exactly comfortable for walking, and Eric claimed to never walk anywhere if he could help it—cute coming from someone who couldn’t even drive.  
  
“Are you worried about the restaurant?” Eric asked, after a while. Minwoo had been chewing on his bottom lip so much, Eric was concerned that he would chew straight through and wind up in the emergency room—or, at the very least, sound really funny trying to sing karaoke.  
  
Minwoo shook his head, unconvincingly, and tried to neutralize his expression.  
  
“No, no. It should be fun. I haven’t had time for karaoke in a while,” he said, smiling so brightly and so suddenly that Eric was frightened—Minwoo’s acting skills were no joke.  
  
“It’s the first time you’re leaving it, though, right? Probably stressful,” Eric continued.  
  
“I trust everyone. I’m sure it will be fine,” Minwoo said, glancing at Eric’s contemplative expression.  
  
“You’re worried~” Eric sing-songed, immediately, reaching out to tickle Minwoo’s chin.  
  
“Maybe a little,” Minwoo admitted, curiously unbothered by Eric’s sudden playfulness.  
  
“It’s cute,” Eric said, petting his hair.  
  
“I’m a grown man,” Minwoo reminded him. A genuine smile was beginning to replace the fake grin.  
  
“Cute puppy,” Eric continued, as if he hadn’t heard a word.  
  
“Ya.”  
  
Eric stuck his tongue out, childishly, but pulled his hand back into his lap. Minwoo felt relieved, somehow, after the whole exchange. He did deserve to go out and have some fun once in a while. There was no use in working so hard. Besides, the restaurant would be fine without him.  
  
The drive was so short, Minwoo wasn’t immediately conscious of the fact that they had arrived until he started parking. He had been so wrapped up in their conversation, he didn’t even have time to worry about the restaurant very much. ‘Strangely,’ he thought, ‘aliens seemed to make good friends.’  
  
“Cute puppy is a good driver, too. Look how quickly we got here,” Eric said, already unbuckling his seatbelt. For someone who was so reluctant to go on the date, he was certainly excited to get out of the car.  
  
“Hey, Eric?” Minwoo said, before he could open the door.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Why did you invite me instead of one of your other friends?” The question had been nagging at him all day, no matter how many other worries and excitements he had running through his head. Certainly, Eric had closer friends. People he had known longer than Minwoo.  
  
“I don’t know. You’re the only person I wanted to hang out with,” Eric said, shrugging, like the question had never occurred to him. “Let’s go. They’re probably waiting.”  


 

* * *

  
Whatever Minwoo had been expecting at the karaoke room, it wasn’t Eric dressed like a clown and doing a drunken samba to a ballad after only two hours of drinking. Apparently, it wasn’t what the girls were expecting, either, because they politely excused themselves when Eric asked them to coordinate their tambourines with the beat of “Arirang”.  
  
Weirdly, Minwoo had to admit, Eric made it work. But that was beside the point.  
  
“Well, I don’t think we’re getting second dates,” he said, dragging Eric by the arm. The other man was rapping to himself—something about a bottle of Coca Cola and a large pizza—not listening to a word Minwoo was saying. “Do you mind if we stop by the restaurant before I take you home? I want to check in and make sure everything went all right.”  
  
Eric didn’t respond—just muttered something about the universe—which Minwoo took as a go-ahead.  
  
The drive back to the restaurant was even faster—not as many cars on the road—and the parking lot was mostly empty when they arrived, which was expected since it was almost closing time. It looked like there were only a couple of customers left.  
  
Minwoo glanced at Eric, who was busy trying to pull his shirt over his head without unbuttoning it.  
  
“Do you want to wait in the car? I’ll only be a minute,” he said, grinning as one of Eric’s buttons got stuck in his hair. Eric didn’t respond—just sort of nodded, but maybe that was an attempt to loosen the button. “I’ll be right back.”  
  
Minwoo figured he could walk in quickly, make sure the remaining customers were enjoying their meals, ask the head waiter how things had gone, and then be on his way. It wouldn’t take more than five minutes. Eric would probably still be working on that button by the time he got back.  
  
But, strangely, the sign on the restaurant door said ‘closed.’ There should have been another twenty minutes left, and Minwoo frowned. Lazy employees. He had told them before, just because it was slow didn’t mean they should close early. People counted on the regular hours, and made plans around them.  
  
“We’re not supposed to be closed yet,” Minwoo said, as soon as he opened the door. The head waiter was standing there, looking terrified, right at the entrance.  
  
“I know! But he said we should close until you got back. We didn’t know what to do. He said not to call you,” the kid said, practically wringing his hands.  
  
“What?  _Who_  said? I own the place—”  
  
“So you’re finally back.”  
  
Minwoo turned to face the dining room, still puzzled, to see his father standing there.  
  
So his visit hadn’t just been a threat. Of course, of all nights…  
  
“Dad…”  
  
“I thought you were taking this restaurant seriously? It’s only been open a month, and you’re already leaving to sing karaoke and go on blind dates?” He wasn’t raising his voice, but it would be better if he did—less humiliating.  
  
“I am taking it seriously, but…”  
  
“I could understand if you were experienced, or if you already had a customer base, but you’re just starting out. I’m not sure giving you permission to open this place was a good idea. We should have had you study longer. You’re too young and immature to run a business.” Minwoo’s father frowned, and grabbed his coat from the rack, leaving both the owner and the head waiter standing open-mouthed in the entry way, unable to respond.  
  
“Mr. Lee? Nice to meet you. I’m Eric—one of the waiters here.”  
  
If Minwoo wasn’t already slackjawed before, he was then. Adding a drunk waiter to the mix was definitely not going to help his father’s impression of the place.  
  
“Eric,” he said, turning to face his new friend, and hoping he was, at the very least, still wearing all of his clothes. To his surprise, for someone who had been wearing clown shoes a half hour before, Eric looked well-groomed and sophisticated, standing in the door of the restaurant.  
  
“Nice to meet you,” Minwoo’s father said, politely, trying to move past Eric and out of the restaurant.  
  
“I don’t mean to butt into your conversation, but your son is an excellent manager. The restaurant is his baby. If we didn’t drag him out of here occasionally, he would probably live in his office. That’s probably why we’ve been so busy, when we’ve only been open for a month. Three customers asked me if the place was open while I was waiting in the parking lot just then, and I think it’s because Minwoo has been pouring his heart and soul into the place. You don’t have to worry about him. He really is great at his job,” Eric said, bowing his head, slightly.  
  
It was the most Minwoo had ever heard him say at one time since he had known him, and he was more than a little touched. For the second time that day, tears were standing in his eyes.  
  
“It’s hard to find fault with such a devoted staff,” his father admitted, smiling. “At the very least, he’s managed to hire some very loyal waiters. We’ll have to talk about it more tomorrow, Minwoo.”  
  
“Yeah…yes…” Minwoo said, bewildered, as he watched his father walk out of the door.  
  
“Ready to go home?” Eric asked, brightly—as if he hadn’t just said the most touching string of words Minwoo had ever heard come from someone’s mouth.  
  
“I…I thought my dad was going to ask me to close the restaurant, but he…we’re going to talk about it tomorrow?” Minwoo mumbled, still having trouble making sense of what had happened.  
  
“Hey, if you closed the restaurant, you could have gone to the US with me this summer to visit my parents,” Eric said, laughing. Obviously, he was no less tipsy than he had been when Minwoo left him in the car.  
  
“The US? Seriously? What the Hell, Eric, we should have let the place close!”

 

* * *

  
“Ya, why are you telling such a sappy story?” Dongwan interrupted, frowning.  
  
Hyesung was almost grateful for Dongwan’s loud, whiny voice. Any more about how perfect his boyfriend was—and that’s what he was getting from everything Minwoo was saying—paired with the wine he was sipping, and he might have jumped over the table and attacked him with kisses.  
  
“Well, it’s all true. I can’t help it if my best friend in the entire world always ends up sounding cool…” Minwoo began, quickly stopped by the man being discussed, who slapped a hand over his mouth.  
  
“So embarrassing,” Eric said, sheepishly.  
  
“Sorry for Minwoo. He’s so soft-hearted,” Dongwan said, tone annoyed, but expression very pleased—almost proud. Hyesung understood the sentiment.  
  
“Why don’t you tell your version, then, Wan-ah? That will definitely be more embarrassing,” Minwoo said, grinning brightly—obviously excited about the attention.  
  
“All right, I will. The Tale Of Eric: World’s Worst Roommate—”  
  
“A story doesn’t need a title. This isn’t summer camp,” Eric complained.  
  
“Shhh. It’s his story,” Hyesung chided.

* * *

It wasn’t that Dongwan was  _against_ the rule that first-year student teachers had to live on-campus, but the roommate part was difficult to wrap his head around.  
  
“I’m student teaching as a service to this school,” Dongwan explained to one of the second-year teachers, “because I think what I’m learning in my PhD program is so important. But living with another student teacher will be a drain on time we could be spending more academically. It’s really a waste.”  
  
“You’re living on campus so they can work you around the clock, and you live together to save the school money,” Jihoon said, frowning over a pile of papers. Dongwan wasn’t convinced that the other man was getting his PhD—he looked more like a disgruntled secretary.  
  
“Yes, but…” Dongwan began.  
  
“Here’s your room assignment. Let me know if you have any questions.” A disgruntled secretary who was more than willing to beat him up if he said another word.  
  
Dongwan was familiar with ‘shut up Dongwan’ body language, and chose not to argue any more. The other man was at least six inches taller and looked like he hadn’t slept since he’d completed his Master’s degree. Not the type of person he wanted to mess with on the first day.  
  
“Thanks,” Dongwan mumbled, hurrying out of the room.  
  
The hallway was pretty empty—he had heard that, across the disciplines, there were less than twenty student teachers. He was the only one for the philosophy department, which meant he would have the pleasure of teaching every single one of the intro classes for the subject—so much for working on his thesis around the clock.  
  
Luckily, their rooms were close to his office. He had a habit of running late, so maybe being forced to live on campus wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He just hoped his roommate was studious—Dongwan, despite a personality his friends called “ahjumma-like”, liked to spend a lot of his time alone, and in quiet reflection.  
  
When he arrived at the “apartment” he would be sharing, the door was ajar. Apparently, his roommate had already started getting settled.  
  
He reached his hand out, preparing himself for what he would find inside. Hopefully not someone too noisy. Hopefully someone who took school seriously.  
  
And, before he could touch the door, it was yanked open.  
  
“Oh, shit, hi,” his roommate said, as Dongwan nearly toppled over in surprise. “Are you OK?”  
  
“I’m fine,” Dongwan said, feebly pressing his hand to his heart.  
  
“I still have a couple of boxes to grab,” the roommate said, darting past him and down the stairs.  
  
So much for greetings. From what Dongwan could tell, in the few seconds they had seen each other, his roommate was very tall—maybe there was something in the water in the grad student housing that made you grow, since the guy who had checked him in had been a giant, too—at least, Dongwan hoped so. He was also very handsome—not necessarily better looking than Dongwan, himself, but he had a different look. And he was strange. Dongwan could tell that from the brief moment he had seen the guy. Really, really weird.

* * *

Dongwan’s roommate was named Eric, and he was very quiet. Too quiet. Scary quiet. Or, at least, quiet compared to Dongwan, who felt the need to loudly cover up any and all silences with whatever happened to be going on in his head at the time. Eric, on the other hand, rarely spoke unless spoken to.

After nearly two weeks of living together, Dongwan had barely managed to find out that Eric was getting his PhD in music theory, and like Dongwan himself, was the only student teacher in his department.  
  
Even though his roommate was quiet, he didn’t seem very studious. Half of his time at home he spent playing video games on his computer at the kitchen table, while Dongwan busted his ass trying to create lesson plans and slideshows and work on his thesis. But at least the guy didn’t require a lot of company.  
  
That is, until the night he suggested they shower together.  
  
Dongwan was taken aback by the proposition, and at first he wondered if his roommate was asking him to do something more than shower. Maybe it was the low lighting, or Eric’s intense stare, but it felt intimate.  
  
“The water gets cold so fast, we might as well save some,” Eric said, matter-of-factly. “It’s not a big deal.”  
  
It was true that their water got cold extremely quickly, but Dongwan wasn’t sure they were close enough yet to hop in the shower together before bed.  
  
“Sure,” he answered, nevertheless, already peeling off his shirt.  
  
Deep down, he was the trusting type.  
  
Five minutes into the shower, Dongwan already felt closer to Eric than he had in the entire two weeks they’d lived together. And not just because they were both wet and naked in such a small space.  
  
Surprisingly, Eric was funny—and talking about school, and what was going on with the classes they were teaching, was easier when they were both feeling more vulnerable. It wasn’t long before Eric was responding to Dongwan’s hilarious puns with “shut up, Dongwan”—the mark of a true friend.  
  
Before shampooing his hair, his impression of Eric had drastically improved. The guy wasn’t so bad. Serious about music theory, and teaching his classes—apparently Eric had planned out all of his lessons over the summer break, in anticipation of being crunched for time in the Fall—and more than willing to joke around and play little word games.  
  
“Want me to squirt some shampoo on your head?” Eric asked, interrupting Dongwan’s long diatribe about the importance of taking the correct vitamins for one’s body type.  
  
“Yeah, sure,” Dongwan said, closing his eyes.  
  
He ran his fingers through his hair, and opened his eyes, only to see that his fingers were covered in something red. Gingerly, he touched his scalp, again, digging in with his fingernails. He inspected his hands more closely and noticed that there was something red under his nails, too.  
  
“Eric! I’m bleeding! My head is bleeding!” Dongwan insisted, half-screaming, and frantically scrubbing at his scalp, trying to find the source of the blood.  
  
“Yeah, looks like,” Eric said, seriously. “Here, hold out your hands and I’ll give you some more shampoo. Maybe you can wash it off.”  
  
Obediently, Dongwan stuck out one of his hands. Had he hit his head somehow during the day? Did he have amnesia? What was his roommate’s name again?  
  
He glanced down at his outstretched hand, and noticed that the shampoo Eric was squirting out of the bottle was the color of blood—the color of…  
  
“Ya,” Dongwan said, grabbing the bottle, “is this ketchup?”  
  
Eric didn’t stick around long enough to answer the question. With his own freshly washed hair, he jumped out of the shower so quickly, Dongwan didn’t have a chance to realize what was happening until it was too late.

* * *

It took Dongwan almost a week to recover from the shampoo incident. He wasn’t angry at Eric, exactly, but all of the vitamins he took had convinced them that things like his scalp spontaneously bleeding could never happen, and seeing the ketchup had almost spiraled him into an existential crisis.

“Are you OK, Wan-ah?” Eric asked, patting him gingerly on the head as he settled in front of the TV to eat some chicken he had ordered--Eric loved takeout. They had only known each other for a short time, but already Eric treated him like they were the best of friends—showering together could do that, apparently. Not that Dongwan minded—it was nice to have a friend on campus, especially since Eric was amazingly popular. With women and men alike.  
  
“I’m fine,” Dongwan insisted, fascinated by the drama they were watching. Something about a man who’s a housekeeper. Eric said Dongwan would fit the role perfectly, if he had been an actor instead of studying philosophy.  
  
“OK,” Eric responded, smiling. “I’m going to go to bed.”  
  
“All right,” Dongwan said, not looking away from the television. The lead actor was extremely handsome.  
  
When the soju he was drinking was gone, and the episode had ended, he decided to go to bed. It was a little disappointing that Eric hadn’t stayed up and finished it with him. Somehow, he had gotten used to the other man—silences and all.  
  
Dongwan walked to his bedroom, and stumbled around in the dark, too tired to turn the light on. He fumbled for the closet door, to hang up the robe he was wearing—he would have to put his eye cream on in the morning. The wrinkles had been there for years, anyway—one night of missing his eye cream probably wouldn’t ruin his life.  
  
He fished his hand around in the closet, searching for an empty hanger, when he came in contact with something solid. Something…fleshy.  
  
“YA KIM DONGWAN!” a voice echoed, from the darkness, as a solid object bowled him over, knocking him backward onto his bed.  
  
As he laid there, paralyzed with fear and confusion, he heard footsteps pounding down the hallway, and into Eric’s room. For a moment, he was concerned—the man hiding in his closet had caused him to have a heart attack, and now he was going to murder his roommate—and then he realized. Eric Fucking Mun.

* * *

 

“I see why you two don’t live together anymore,” Hyesung said, grinning at Eric across the table.

“Oh, no, that’s not why they don’t live together,” Minwoo contributed. “Dongwan is the reason they don’t live together.”  
  
“Minwoo~ that’s not true,” Dongwan whined, frowning.  
  
“It is true,” Eric said, glowering at his friend, over the top of Minwoo’s head.  
  
“Why’s that?” Junjin asked—he had been silent for a long time—unusual for him—probably preparing to tell a really horrible and embarrassing tale of his own.  
  
“Eric and Dongwan used to get in fist fights. They even got in one at work once. Dongwan was going to decorate a cupcake with some of that powdered gold you can find in the baking supplies aisle, and wouldn’t tell Eric what he was doing. Eric punched him in the face,” Minwoo explained.  
  
“That’s not why! We always made up after all of the fist fights. They made us closer,” Dongwan whined, offended.  
  
“Yeah, that’s not why,” Eric piped up—for once, agreeing with his friend.  
  
“Why was it, then?” Minwoo asked, tilting his head to the side, curiously.  
  
“His name,” Eric said, quickly, before Dongwan could open his mouth.  
  
“Ah, right. I forgot. Dongwan likes to write his name on everything. Eric snapped when he saw ‘Kim’ written on all of their eggs, or something,” Minwoo replied, obviously trying to hold back a laugh, and barely succeeding.  
  
“It wasn’t about the eggs! The eggs are OK, but why does someone else’s boyfriend need to write his name in all of my underwear? It’s not normal. I don’t care what the two of you say,” Eric said, raising his voice for the first time all night. Apparently the underwear thing made him very sensitive.  
  
“Ah…that’s why…” Hyesung muttered—something finally making sense.  
  
“Why what?” Junjin asked, eyes still focused on Eric and Dongwan trading light punches over Minwoo’s shoulders.  
  
“The hand towels at Eric’s apartment. I noticed ‘Kim’ was written on the tags. I thought maybe he only used them on Fridays…”


End file.
